Convicted murderer and former Olympian and Paralympian Oscar Pistorius (37) will walk out of prison on Friday as the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) has confirmed his parole as of 5 January.
Pistorius was sent to prison for killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on the evening of Valentine’s Day in 2013.
The DCS says Pistorius will be monitored until the expiration of his sentence in 2029.
As part of his parole conditions, Pistorius will be expected to be home at a certain time and not consume alcohol for the duration of his sentence.
Pistorius will be living at his uncle’s home in Pretoria, The Pretoria News has reported.
The DCS says details of his transportation from Atteridgeville Correctional Centre in Tshwane will be kept private for security reasons.
The parole board has ironed out a list of “other programmes” that are compulsory for Pistorius to attend.
“The Department of Correctional Services affirms that a decision taken by the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board (CSPB) on 24 November 2023 to place inmate Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius on parole, effectively from 5 January 2024 remains valid and is to be enforced.
“The general parole conditions will apply to Pistorius. For example, he will be expected to be home at particular hours of the day. He may not consume alcohol and other prohibited substances.
“Just like other parolees, Pistorius is restricted from conducting media interviews,” the DCS says.
Pistorius has been in jail since late 2014 and was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 13 years and five months.
The former gold medallist shot Steenkamp multiple times with his licensed 9mm pistol while she was in the bathroom of their home in Pretoria.
His legal team told AFP that they were hoping Pistorius would be released by Christmas.
Shortly after 03h00 on Valentine’s Day in February 2013, the life of Paralympian hero Oscar Pistorius changed dramatically after he fired four shots through the toilet door in his Silver Oaks, Pretoria East mansion, killing Steenkamp.
On 13 February, 2013, Pistorius spent the evening at his home with Steenkamp.
In the early morning hours of Valentine’s Day, he shot and killed her.
At the time the shots were fired, she has been inside the locked toilet.
In his explanation of plea during his trial, Pistorius described the incident as a tragic one which had occurred after he had mistakenly believed that an intruder or intruders has entered his home.
Pistorius explained: “During the early hours of the morning, I brought two fans in from the balcony. I had shortly spoken to Reeva, who was in bed beside me.
“Unbeknown to me, Reeva must have gone to the toilet in the bathroom at the time when I brought in the fans, closed the sliding doors and drew the blinds and the curtains.
“I heard the bathroom window sliding open. I believed that an intruder or intruders had entered the bathroom through the bathroom window, which was not fitted with burglar bars.
“I approached the bathroom, armed with my firearm so as to defend Reeva and I. At that time, I believed Reeva was still in bed.”
He said he had been in a “fearful state”, knowing he was on his stumps, unable to run away or properly defend himself physically.
He had then fired the four shots, which had lasted mere seconds, but had changed his life forever.
The state’s case was that Pistorius and Steenkamp had argued and he had intentionally shot and killed her.
To support its case, the state called Estelle van der Merwe, a resident at the same complex as Pistorius, who had awoken a few minutes before 02h00 to hear what she had thought was a woman’s voice.
To her, it had sounded as if the woman was arguing with someone. She could not, however, locate the voice nor tell what language was being spoken or what was being said.
Shortly after 03h00, she had heard what she thought were gunshots.
A couple who lived in an adjacent complex about 177m away from Pistorius’s house heard screams that they interpreted as those of a woman in distress.
Another witness who lived in the same complex as Pistorius, about 80m away, said she thought she had heard gunshots.
A few minutes later, she and her husband had heard someone crying out loud and a man shouting for help. – IOL
Stay informed with The Namibian – your source for credible journalism. Get in-depth reporting and opinions for
only N$85 a month. Invest in journalism, invest in democracy –
Subscribe Now!
