Pistorius Murder Case Detective Leaves Police

The detective originally leading the Oscar Pistorius murder investigation has resigned from the police force, it has been announced.

South African police brigadier Neville Malila said detective Hilton Botha had voluntarily applied to leave the service.

The news comes after Botha made several procedural errors in his role as the lead investigator after athlete Pistorius shot and killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on February 14.

It later emerged that the officer faced attempted murder charges for a case in which he fired on a vehicle in an attempt to make it stop.

His superiors then removed him from the case against Pistorius, the double-amputee athlete who competed at the London Olympics and Paralympics.

Mr Malila said: "He handed in his resignation yesterday and it was accepted with immediate effect. We are not going into the details."

Warrant officer Botha, the first officer on the scene after Ms Steenkamp's shooting, had 24 years experience as a detective.

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The charges were withdrawn but reinstated on February 4, 10 days before Ms Steenkamp was shot.

The episode 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 man later died, and video of his treatment was uploaded to websites and shocked audiences around the world.