The initial lead investigator in the Oscar Pistorius murder case, Hilton Botha, has been replaced by the police on Tursday. The investigation will now be led by divisional commander of detective services Lieutenant General Vinesh Moonoo.
Moonoo is a senior detective of more than 30 years experience, and is currently the Divisional Commissioner of the Detective Service. He is married with two children.
Lieutenant General Vinesh Moonoo joined the South African Police Service in Durban in 1981. He was a board member of the National Council for Correctional Services and has served on the board of the Central Drug Authority. Currently he is serving on the board of directors of Crime Stoppers International, representing Region 7- Africa.
National police commissioner Riah Phiyega has appointed the country’s “top detective” as the new lead investigator in the Pistorius case. The decision came after it was revealed earlier today that detective Hilton Botha was facing attempted murder charges, although he is not suspended from the South African police as he has not been convicted of any wrongdoing.
“The Pistorius case shall receive attention at the national level and Moonoo will gather a team of highly skilled and experienced detectives,” Phiyega said.
Detective Warrant Officer Hilton Botha, is facing seven charges of attempted murder. Botha and two other officers were accused of shooting to a taxi carrying seven passengers in 2009, according to a spokesperson for the South African police service.
“It is claimed that the officers, who were on duty at the time, were drunk”, the report said.
Charges were initially dropped but were reinstated by the state prosecutor in the days before the shooting of Reeva Steenkamp, Sky said. A move that was revealed while Botha was testifying against Pistorius.
More Stories for you
“We were trying to apprehend a second suspect in a murder,” he said. “The taxi tried to push us off the road. We fired”, Botha said.
“I don’t understand why case was reinstated (Wednesday),” he told the South African network eNCA. “I can only think this is linked to my work on Oscar Pistorius.