Let’s face it, America doesn’t always have a sound justice system. But if the Oscar Pistorius murder case is any indication, neither does South Africa.
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Between the change in lead investigators, the differing formalities, and a threat that made authorities evacuate the courtroom on Thursday (yes, that happened), there’s enough drama in these court proceedings to earn it a reality television show!
Unfortunately, it’s real life. And it seems as if the tragic shooting of model and law graduate Reeva Steenkamp is overshadowed by the characters who are making this circus of court proceedings go ’round.
But really, would any of the odd, strange and shocking incidents that have occurred ever happen in an American courtroom?
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It’s quite possible. But before we answer that question, let’s check out those moments that made us go hmmmmm…
Pistorius isn’t the only one being charged for murder:
See that guy right there? He used to be the lead investigator in the Pistorius murder case. But then it came out that Detective Hilton Botha is facing seven attempted murder charges. SEVEN! Apparently he got drunk one night and opened fire on a minivan full of people. After officials said they wouldn’t take him off the case because he was a seasoned detective, it came out today that he was dropped and replaced with police Lieutenant General Vinesh Moonoo.
Would this happen in America?
A lead detective on the case with murder charges of his own? Naw. America would be outraged. How does this guy still have a job. But then again, this probably has happened before. Police cover-ups anybody?
Not properly securing the crime scene:
It came out during one of the bail hearings that Botha, that same guy who tried to shoot up seven people in 2009, was pretty damn negligent when it came to securing the scene of the crime. According to sources in the courtroom, the officer was slated for “contaminating” the crime scene by not wearing foot covers.
Furthermore, Botha said investigators found two boxes of testosterone in the bedroom, along with syringes and needles. But during cross-examination, Botha admitted he “didn’t read the whole name on the container.” Dude. How the hell are you proving anything!
Would this happen in America?
Hell yes!! Botched crimes scenes confuse cases all the time. This one isn’t so far-fetched. We just have to make sure we get people on the scene who know what the hell they’re doing.
Who the hell are all those people?
At Pistorius’ bail hearings, about 80 people are given seats each day to witness the anguish of the Olympian as he defends himself and listens to the details of that fateful night over and over again. But how the hell are all these people involved in such a high profile case! Apparently the cluster of people include lucky journalists, photographers, criminologists, a sketch artist and the track star’s parents, brother and sister and friends. And these people aren’t discreet and quiet either! When Botha was asked if he thought the South African runner would take the opportunity to flee the country, he said “yes.” The court laughed…for reasons that still confuse me…and that must have felt awful for Pistorius and his family. Mad awkward.
Would this happen in America?
Hmmm, not really sure. American judges are usually pretty strict. Unless you’re on Judge Judy or Judge Mathis. Then laugh away. But then again, I’m a little scared of Judge Judy too, so I’d do zero laughing in her courtroom. No, thank you!
Lies, lies and more lies:
There’s no shortage of “smh” moments when it comes to this clown Botha. During his cross-examination, Botha admitted that the witness who claimed to hear domestic disputes between Reeva and Oscar lives a whopping 2,000 feet away, possibly out of earshot. After a break for lunch, the detective then amended this estimate to 1,000 feet. Which is it, dude!?
Would this happen in America?
Is this even a question? We’re talking about America here. Do lawyers and law enforcement officers lie? That’s like asking if Chris Brown and Rihanna are the new Bobby and Whitney. Duh.
Bomb Threat?
Not exactly. Magistrate Desmond Nair didn’t give the specifics when he dismissed the proceedings for some time on Thursday after receiving some sort of threat, but they were back in court in no time.
The threat or evacuation of the courtroom isn’t so odd, but when you add it to the rest of the list, you get a case where literally everything is going wrong. Everything.
Would this happen in America?
Most likely. Threats can happen any and everywhere. Especially if you’re dealing with such a high profile case.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if the case was in America or in South Africa. The law might be different, so we might not be familiar with some of the proceedings. But those WTF moments…those can happen anywhere. Especially because this case is being called the “OJ Simpson” case of South Africa.
Anything is bound to happen. And we’ll be watching.
Bonus: Here’s an American “Botha.” It happens here too.
