JOHANNESBURG — In a severe legal blow to Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s former president, national prosecutors announced on Friday that they would reinstate corruption charges against him in a case related to a multibillion-dollar arms deal in the late 1990s.

Shaun Abrahams, South Africa’s chief prosecutor, said there were “reasonable prospects of a successful prosecution” of Mr. Zuma.

The announcement was the latest — though not likely the final — chapter in a long-running corruption case that nearly derailed Mr. Zuma’s bid for the presidency and tarnished the image of South Africa’s governing African National Congress. The deal under scrutiny laid the seeds of a culture of graft that has flourished in recent years.

A skilled tactician, Mr. Zuma rose to the presidency despite the shadow cast by the arms deal — a multibillion dollar purchase to modernize South Africa’s military after apartheid — and other legal problems, including a trial on rape charges. He portrayed himself as a victim and tapped into his deep support among poor South Africans to become president in 2009.