Former South African President Jacob Zuma is set to go on trial for 18 charges of fraud, corruption, money laundering and racketeering, after a court dismissed his application for permanent stay of prosecution.

The 77-year-old, who held office from 2009 to 2018, had applied for 16 charges of fraud, racketeering and money laundering to be effectively struck out.

The charges are connected to a deal to buy $2.5bn of European military hardware for South Africa's armed forces in the late 1990s.

His legal team relied on the National Prosecuting Authority's 15-year delay to prosecute and political interference to secure a permanent stay of prosecution.

The Pietermaritzburg High Court on Friday ruled against the former president, and he will now appear in the trial court on Tuesday to face the charges.

Zuma resigned from office in February 2018 after a string of accusations were laid against him, including a state-capture allegation involving the controversial Gupta family.

His co-accused, a French arms company Thales, also applied for a permanent stay of prosecution.

Thales is accused of agreeing to pay Zuma a yearly R500,000 bribe for protection from an investigation into the controversial multibillion-rand arms deal.

The alleged bribe was facilitated by Zuma's former financial adviser‚ Schabir Shaik.

(With input from Times Live, Guardian)