Maarohanye, along with Themba Tshabalala, faces murder charges for allegedly killing four schoolboys while drag racing in Protea Glen, Soweto. Motloung said the media had constantly focused on Maarohanye throughout the trial, while Tshabalala was only mentioned in passing.

Delivering his closing arguments yesterday, Motloung - who was also the defence lawyer for suspended crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli - said Maarohanye did not get fair treatment from the moment he was arrested in March 2010.

"Cops did not give my client formal warnings on the day the arrests were made. His fundamental rights were breached."

He said his client was identified immediately after the accident occurred, when "he had the right [not to have] his identity revealed".

He said "unknown sources" had revealed evidence that both Maarohanye and Tshabalala were under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time of their arrest.

"Who was so magical and prophetic to know that the accused were under the influence so fast?

"Those preliminary results were made public after they were privately disclosed," he said.

He also argued that the evidence provided by the prosecutor during the trial was biased and vague, adding that four witnesses had "falsely claimed" that the accused was speeding. He said the defence's witnesses could, as passengers, provide a more reliable account of the speed.

Tshabalala's lawyer, Mlungiseleli Sovithi, a legal aid representative, will give his closing argument tomorrow.