Johannesburg – Prosecutor Glynnis Breytenbach has been informed that she will be redeployed, SABC radio news reported on Friday.

Her lawyer, Gerhard Wagenaar, told the state broadcaster she had been informed of this on Thursday evening.

“What I can tell you, is that we have received a letter just before 19:00 last night indicating that Ms Breytenbach will be redeployed to the office of the director of public prosecutions in Pretoria and not to the SCU [Specialised Crime Unit] anymore,” said Wagenaar.

On Thursday, the National Prosecuting Authority confirmed that it had filed an application for the Labour Court to review the outcome of a disciplinary hearing which cleared Breytenbach of all charges against her.

On 27 May, Breytenbach was found not guilty on 15 counts by a disciplinary hearing, which sat at the NPA’s head office in Pretoria.

One of the charges was that she failed to act impartially when investigating the Kumba Iron Ore/Sishen and Imperial Crown Trading mining rights dispute, because of “improper relations” with Sishen’s lawyer Mike Hellens.

After the findings were made known, the NPA said it found them “factually incorrect and legally unsustainable” and would approach the court for a review.

On Wednesday, the NPA’s executive manager for communications Bulelwa Makeke, said in response to a question, that Breytenbach was at work but that the NPA would not discuss work matters in the media.

On Thursday, Eyewitness News reported that Breytenbach had not worked at all this week.

Asked on Thursday to clarify, NPA spokesperson Nomilo Mpondo said the NPA told Breytenbach she could come back to work on Monday. The NPA reiterated that it would not discuss her daily movements with the media.

– SAPA