Durban - The bouncer accused of murdering a patron at the Rocca Bar Nightclub in 2013 walked from the Durban Regional Court a free man on Thursday, leaving unanswered the mystery of who fired the fatal shot.
Former mixed martial arts fighter, Hector Britts, 33, was acquitted of the murder of Craigh Botha, who was shot in the club on August 4, 2013.
Magistrate Fariedha Mohamed found Britts not guilty after his attorney, Ridewaan Sayed, brought an application for his discharge under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act.
Section 174 provides that if, at the close of the State’s case, the court believes there is no evidence the accused committed the offence, it may return a verdict of not guilty.
In delivering her verdict, Mohamed said the evidence of the State witnesses was contradictory and they had not impressed the court. She singled out Botha’s former wife, Cindy, as being a dishonest witness.
Her evidence left a lot to be desired, as she had described Botha as being calm and not aggressive on the night of the incident, the magistrate said, adding this was different from the version of nightclub owner, Tyrone Lundy.
Mohamed said Lundy’s testimony was clear and concise when he described Botha as being “explosive, shouting, going ballistic and threatening to kill”.
“Lundy had no contradictions in his evidence and it supported the defence. He wrestled with the deceased and he also fell to the ground. Who fired the shot that killed the deceased?” The magistrate said not one of the State witnesses could say.
Turning to Britts, she added: “You are therefore found not guilty and discharged.”
Botha’s family stormed out of court, slamming the door behind them even before Mohamed completed her verdict.
Earlier, Sayed, in his application for the discharge, told Mohamed the State could not land a conviction with its weak evidence.
He questioned the investigating officer on why he did not investigate or treat some of the other people present on the night as suspects. He argued they all could have had a motive for killing Botha.
Sayed pointed out that Cindy was in the club with her boyfriend, which angered Botha. He also reminded Mohamed that when Lundy had got into a physical confrontation while trying to calm down Botha, Britts had already been struck unconscious by Botha.
Neither a firearm nor cartridges were recovered from the scene, said Sayed.
Botha was shot in the stomach after an argument turned into a brawl inside the club in Morningside. He died a week later in hospital.
Britts refused to comment.
Daily News