Detective in Pistorius case dropped for charges he faces

AP

Show Caption Hide Caption Lead detective in Oscar Pistorius case faces charges The lead detective in Oscar Pistorius' murder case is facing attempted murder charges for opening fire at a minibus containing seven people.

Hilton Botha faces seven counts of attempted murder in an October 2011 shooting involving a minivan

Botha was the lead investigator in South Africa%27s murder case against Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius

Prosecutors said they were unaware of the charges when Botha testified during Wednesday%27s bail hearing

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — The head of South African police appointed a new lead investigator Thursday in the Oscar Pistorius premeditated murder case after it came to light that previous murder charges against the detective in question had been reinstated, potentially another damaging blow to the prosecution.

National Commissioner Riah Phiyega says Lt. Gen. Vinesh Moonoo will take over the investigation.

Phiyega says the Pistorius case "shall receive attention at the national level" and Moonoo will "gather a team of highly skilled and experience detectives."

She says Moonoo is the South Africa police's "top detective."

Prosecutors said they were unaware of the charges against veteran detective Hilton Botha when they put him on the stand in court Tuesday and Wednesday to explain why Pistorius, the double-amputee Olympic and Paralympic runner should not be given bail in the Valentine's Day shooting death of his girlfriend.

Prosecutors say Pistorius intentionally killed model Reeva Steenkamp and have charged him with premeditated murder. Pistorius says he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder and that the shooting was accidental.

Police Brig. Neville Malila told the Associated Press that Botha — who gave testimony in the Pistorius bail hearing on Wednesday — is scheduled to appear in court in May on seven counts of attempted murder related to an incident in October 2011 when Botha and two other police officers fired at a minibus they were trying to stop.

Malila said police had learned Wednesday, the same day that Botha appeared in court to oppose Pistorius' bail application, that the charges against Botha and the two others had been reinstated by the Director of Public Prosecutions. They were initially dropped following the shooting incident.

Malila said police were now waiting for details from the Botha case file from the public prosecutor.

South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority acknowledged the timing of the attempted murder charges against Botha is "totally weird."

In the state case against the Olympic athlete, Botha offered often confused testimony and conceded that nothing in Pistorius' account of the Steenkamp shooting contradicted the police's version.

On Thursday, magistrate Desmond Nair questioned Botha over delays in processing records from phones found in Pistorius' house.

Botha was the lead investigator in an assault claim against Pistorius in 2009. Pistorius' lawyers said police arrested the athlete and held him overnight at a police station and said they will pursue a lawsuit against police for wrongful arrest.

The current case against Pistorius, which is still only in a bail hearing, has riveted much of the world. Pistorius, the 26-year-old known as the Blade Runner for his carbon-fiber running prosthetic legs, says he fired shots through the locked door of a toilet enclosed inside his bathroom because he thought there was an intruder in there.

Steenkamp was hit three times, in the head, right elbow and right hip, police say, and prosecutors argue Pistorius intended to kill his 29-year-old girlfriend after a fight in the early hours of Valentine's Day.