Pistorius eyes bail as hearing enters final stretch

PRETORIA: “Blade Runner” Oscar Pistorius, charged with murder for shooting dead his girlfriend, arrived in court yesterday hoping to secure bail after three days of hearings saw the prosecution’s case seriously undermined.

Prosecutors accuse the star sprinter of premeditated murder over the Valentine’s Day killing of his model law graduate girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, at his upscale home.

Pistorius denies the charge, saying that he shot 29-yearold Steenkamp repeatedly through a locked bathroom door in the dead of night by accident, having mistaken her for a burglar.

Yesterday, the prosecution is expected to wrap up its closing arguments and Magistrate Desmond Nair will then have to decide whether to make a decision on bail or delay his fi nding until after the weekend.

The prosecution has seen its evidence repeatedly picked apart during the week’s proceedings, giving what observers say is a good chance for Pistorius to be released on bail as he awaits trial for the killing.

In a stunning development on Thursday, South Africa’s police commissioner Riah Phiyega unceremoniously ditched the lead detective on the case, Hilton Botha, after he bumbled through testimony and it emerged that he himself was facing seven attempted murder charges for having opened fi re on a minibus in 2011. — AFP