Pistorius detective facing attempted murder charges

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  Themba Hadebe / APInvestigating officer Hilton Botha, sits inside the court witness box during the Oscar Pistorius bail hearing at the magistrate court in Pretoria, South Africa, Feb. 20.By Peroshni Govender and Helen Nyambura-Mwaura, ReutersPRETORIA - The lead detective in Oscar Pistorius' murder case is facing attempted murder charges for opening fire at a mini bus containing seven people, a police spokesman said on Thursday.

Brigadier Neville Malila said Hilton Botha, who took the stand against Pistorius at a bail hearing on Wednesday, is due to appear in court in May.

Domestic news service SAPA said Botha was accused of shooting at the minibus in  2009 when it failed to heed his orders to stop, although the charges were later  provisionally withdrawn.


The charges were reinstated on Wednesday,  Malila said, without providing further details.

Related story: Oscar Pistorius in court: Defense exposes cracks in police evidenceThe prosecution is challenging Oscar Pistorius' testimony about what happened on the night his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp was killed. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports. Under cross-examination  at the paralympic star's bail hearing on Wednesday, Botha was accused of  contaminating the crime scene in Pistorius' house and had to backtrack on key  details such as the distance of witnesses from the home.

Lead defence  counsel Barry Roux accused the police of oversights and slip-ups in their  initial investigation.

The bail hearing for Pistorius, who has been  charged with shooting dead his girlfriend in the early hours of Valentine's Day,  is due to restart at 0900 GMT.

This story was originally published on Thu Feb 21, 2013 1:13 AM EST

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