A corruption case against ex-President Jacob Zuma and French defence company Thales over a $2bn state arms deal will start in May, a South Africa court says.

Mr Zuma faces 16 charges , including fraud, racketeering and money laundering - all of which he denies.

Mr Zuma is accused of illegally accepting annual payments from Thales after the weapons deal took place in 1999. Mr Zuma became South Africa's deputy president in 1999 and president a decade later.

His financial adviser, Schabir Shaikh, was found guilty of trying to solicit bribes on his behalf from the French arms firm and was jailed in 2005.

The case against Mr Zuma was dropped shortly before he ran for president in 2009.

It was postponed again last year after Thales challenged the racketeering charges. But on Tuesday a judge at the Pietermaritzburg High Court said the trial would start on 17 May.