New chief detective on case before Pistorius bail decision
Officer charged with attempted murder from 2011 shooting
PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA — Ahead of a judge’s decision on whether to release Oscar Pistorius on bail, South African police on Thursday appointed a new chief detective in the murder case, replacing a veteran policeman who was himself charged with attempted murder.
The sensational twist in the state’s troubled investigation fuelled growing public fascination with the case against the double-amputee Olympian, who is charged with premeditated murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in the early hours of Valentine’s Day.
Pistorius, a sporting icon and source of inspiration to millions until the shooting a week ago, is backed by a highpowered team of lawyers and publicists. The abruptness of his fall, and its gruesome circumstances, have gripped a global audience and put South Africa’s police and judicial system under the spotlight.
The man at the centre of the storm sat in the dock during his bail hearing, mostly keeping his composure in contrast to slumped-over outbursts of weeping and sobbing on previous days in court.
In front of Pistorius, defence lawyer Barry Roux pounced on the apparent disarray in the state’s case, laying out arguments that amounted to a test run for the full trial yet to come.
Roux pointed to what he called the “poor quality” of the investigation and raised the matter of intent, saying Pistorius and Steenkamp had a “loving relationship” and the Olympian therefore had no motive to plan her killing.
Pistorius, 26, said he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder when he shot her through a locked door in a bathroom in his home. Prosecutors believe the shooting happened after the couple got into an argument, and prosecutor Gerrie Nel painted a picture of a man he said was “willing and ready to fire and kill.”
Much of the drama Thursday, however, happened outside the courtroom as South African police scrambled to get their investigation on track.
In a news conference at a training academy, National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega said a senior detective would gather a team of “highly skilled and experienced” officers to investigate the killing of 29-year-old Steenkamp, a model and budding reality TV contestant.
The decision to put police Lt.-Gen. Vinesh Moonoo in charge came soon after word emerged that the initial chief investigator, Hilton Botha, is facing attempted murder charges, and a day after he offered testimony damaging to the prosecution.
Botha acknowledged Wednesday in court that nothing in Pistorius’s version of the fatal shooting of Steenkamp contradicted what police had discovered, even though there have been some discrepancies. Botha also said that police had left a 9-mm slug in the toilet and had lost track of allegedly illegal ammunition found in Pistorius’s home.
“This matter shall receive attention at the national level,” Phiyega told reporters soon after the end of proceedings on the third day of Pistorius’s bail hearing.
Bulewa Makeke, spokeswoman for South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority, said the attempted murder charges had been reinstated against Botha on Feb. 4. Police say they found out about it after Botha testified in Pistorius’s bail hearing Wednesday.
Botha and two other police officers had seven counts of attempted murder reinstated against them in relation to a 2011 shooting incident. Botha and his two colleagues allegedly fired shots at a minibus they were trying to stop.
Makeke indicated the charges were reinstated against Botha because more evidence had been gathered. She said the charges against Botha were initially dropped “because there was not enough evidence at the time.”
On Thursday, Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair asked the defence: “Do you think there will be some level of shock if the accused is released?”
Defence lawyer Roux responded: “I think there will be a level of shock in this country if he is not released.”