IOL mot may22 clarkson

Clarkson puts his foot in it, again

IOL mot may22 clarkson

Jodi Arias begs for life

IOL mot may22 clarkson

Is Pope Francis an exorcist?

IOL mot may22 clarkson

Pule takes aim at high data costs

IOL mot may22 clarkson

Kenya unfazed by Obama’s ‘snub’

On the go?

Get IOL's cool new iPad app...

ipad may 18
Loading

Police mum on Botha’s departure

March 7 2013 at 10:33pm

Comment on this story

IOL pic mar8 hilton botha

Reuters

Warrant Officer Hilton Botha has resigned from the police force after being pulled off the Oscar Pistorius case. File photo: Reuters

Johannesburg - A South African detective - pulled off the investigation of athletics star Oscar Pistorius after it emerged he faces attempted murder charges - has resigned from the force, police said on Thursday.

Warrant Officer Hilton Botha, the first officer on the scene after the Valentine's Day shooting of Pistorius's girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, was also criticised for mixing up key facts about the investigation at the Blade Runner's bail hearing.

“He handed in his resignation yesterday and it was accepted with immediate effect,” police spokesperson Brigadier Neville Malila told Reuters. “We are not going into the details.”

Botha, a detective with 24 years experience, is accused of firing on a minibus taxi full of passengers in 2011 while pursuing a man accused of murdering a woman and disposing of her dismembered body down a drain, local media said.

The charges were withdrawn but reinstated on February 4 - 10 days before Steenkamp was shot.

The incident has embarrassed the South African police who regularly come under fire for failing to reduce one of the highest crimes rates in the world and dispel perceptions of a force that is poorly trained.

Last week, eight policemen were arrested for tying a Mozambican taxi driver to the back of a vehicle and dragging him to the station. The video-recorded treatment of the man who later died shocked audiences around the world. - Reuters


sign up
 
 

Comment Guidelines


  1. Please read our comment guidelines.
  2. Login and register, if you haven’ t already.
  3. Write your comment in the block below and click (Post As)
  4. Has a comment offended you? Hover your mouse over the comment and wait until a small triangle appears on the right-hand side. Click triangle () and select "Flag as inappropriate". Our moderators will take action if need be.

     

Join us on

 IOL-Social networks IOL-Social networks IOL-Social networks IOL-Social networks

Business Directory

IOL Travel

Make sure you find the best available airfares with our easy-to-use search engine.

Travel_pic_enw