Mr Ramaphosa said in a statement on Thursday that an agreement had been struck to continue the payments until a court finds Mr Zuma had acted in his personal capacity rather than as head of state.

He said that the deal also requires his predecessor to repay the money if he's found personally culpable of the charges. According to main opposition party Democratic Alliance (DA) the state has so far spent 15m rand ($1.2m; £900,000) in Mr Zuma's legal fees.

The former president - who resigned last month after intense pressure - faces 18 charges of corruption relating to a government arms deal in the late 1990s. The charges had been dropped in 2009 just before he became president but they were recently reinstated by the National Prosecuting Authority.

The BBC's Andrew Harding reports that the opposition parties say the money spent so far has been used on time-wasting appeals and legal challenges designed to thwart justice and spare Mr Zuma the humiliation of a criminal trial. He adds that opposition parties are planning to go to court themselves, to challenge South Africa’s government decision to continue paying the former president's legal fees.