Pistorius Cop Facing Attempted Murder Charges

The police officer leading the Oscar Pistorius investigation has been replaced.

The move comes after it emerged that Hilton Botha is facing attempted murder charges.

Botha and two other officers are alleged to have opened fire on seven passengers in a taxi mini-bus in an attempt to stop it. It is claimed that the officers, who were on duty at the time, were drunk.

They were arrested after the event in October 2011 and charges were initially dropped but were reinstated by the state prosecutor in the days before the shooting of Reeva Steenkamp.

Oscar Pistorius arrives at court for the third day of his bail hearing

In a news conference after the bail hearing was adjourned until tomorrow, National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega said Botha had been replaced by senior detective Lieutenant General Vineshkumar Moonoo, divisional commissioner of the Detective Service.

Describing the "significance", "importance" and "severity" of the investigation, she said: "This matter shall receive attention at a national level and this is why I am announcing the person who will be leading this."

The South African Police Service has confirmed the charges against the detective and launched an investigation which may see Botha suspended.

Neville Malila said they had bolstered the investigation team

Spokesman Neville Malila said: "We were only informed yesterday that attempted murders charges against Hilton Botha have been reinstated."

Botha was summoned to the courtroom at the beginning of the third day of Pistorius' bail hearing, however, he was only asked to clarify why there had been delays in getting the mobile phone records of Pistorius and Miss Steenkamp in the hours surrounding the shooting incident.

The police only discovered the charges against Botha had been reinstated yesterday, although the decision was made before Miss Steenkamp's death. He is to appear in court in May.

Prosecutors admitted that the timing of the attempted murder charges had been "totally weird".

Hilton Botha arrives at court to give evidence at Pistorius' bail hearing

It is unclear why the charges against Botha were reinstated. He denies being drunk and has told a South African news channel that he was chasing suspects.

Sky's Alex Crawford said he was "absolutely shocked" and only heard about the charges being reinstated this morning.

Under cross-examination during Pistorius' bail hearing, Botha was accused of contaminating the crime scene in the Paralympic star's home and backtracked on key details, including the distance of witnesses from the house.

Oscar Pistorius is due to find out whether he will be granted bail

In his often confused testimony, Botha, who was described as a 24-year police veteran with 16 years as a detective, conceded that police had left a 9 mm slug from the shots that killed Miss Steenkamp inside a toilet at the scene.

Police also lost track of illegal ammunition found inside the house, Botha said, and the detective himself walked through the crime scene without wearing protective shoe covers, potentially contaminating the area.

He also claimed in court that police found boxes of testosterone and needles in multiple Paralympic champion Pistorius' bedroom following the Valentine's Day shooting last week, but then said later he wasn't sure what the exact name of the substance was.

The lead defence counsel Barry Roux accused the police of oversights and mistakes on their initial investigation.

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