Less than a week after a High Court judge ordered that KwaZulu-Natal's top cop‚ Lieutenant-General Mmamonnye Ngobeni‚ can return to her desk following a four-month-long suspension‚ she is back at home. Acting national police commissioner Khomotso Phahlane suspended Ngobeni‚ the KZN provincial SAPS commissioner‚ in May over allegations that she protected controversial Durban businessman Thoshan Panday from a 2010 Fifa World Cup corruption investigation.Phahlane also instituted a commission of enquiry into Ngobeni's fitness to hold office. Ngobeni took the matter to court and‚ last Wednesday‚ the Durban High Court ruled that Phahlane did not have the powers to institute such a commission. This meant that Ngobeni was allowed to return to her job.However‚ her attorney‚ Ravindra Maniklall‚ told TMG Digital that Ngobeni was back at home after the state requested leave to appeal last week's ruling.“The judge set aside the enquiry and the suspension…permanently. First they [the state] said they would abide by the decision‚ but now they have brought an application for leave to appeal‚ which we have opposed. Until the application for leave to appeal is heard‚ in terms of the Superior Court Act‚ [last week's] court order becomes suspended until the appeal process is completed‚" said Maniklall.He said he hoped that the process would be completed "shortly"."She was at work from last week. From the time they filed‚ she respected the court order. It should be shortly‚ as matters like this are normally dealt with as a matter of urgency. We're in the judge's hands. We have to wait until the court has the time to deal with it‚ then it depends on everyone else's availablity. All those kinfs of human factors come into play. We should get a result maybe in the future - week or two‚" said Maniklall.Ngobeni's initial suspension came amid allegations of a "possible corrupt relationship" with controversial Panday‚ who was accused of forking out R20 000 for Ngobeni's husband Lucas's birthday party in 2010. Panday was also allegedly involved in a R60-million SAPS tender scam. He has fervently denied all the allegations against him. TMG Digital/The Times..