Oscar’s sentence hearing in June
Court relaxes bail conditions a little
OSCAR Pistorius’s bail conditions were slightly relaxed yesterday by the Pretoria High Court.
The amended conditions allow for Pistorius to travel outside a 20km radius from home with the permission of the police investigating officer in his case.
Previously, Pistorius had to approach the Department of Correctional Services if he wanted to travel further than 10km from his home or outside the times set down in his bail conditions.
Pistorius‚ who is out on bail of R10 000‚ has been confined to his uncle Arnold’s luxury home in Waterkloof‚ Pretoria‚ and allowed to leave the house only between 7am and noon.
Pistorius appeared publicly for the first time yesterday since he lost his final bid to appeal his murder conviction.
Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba postponed the case to June 13 for sentencing.
The double-amputee athlete must be sentenced afresh after the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) last year overturned his culpable homicide conviction for shooting and killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, and instead found him guilty of murder.
Pistorius‚ 29‚ shot Steenkamp‚ 29‚ through a locked toilet door at his Pretoria home on February 14 2013.
He said he had fired the four shots believing an intruder was hiding behind the door and his life and that of Steenkamp were in danger.
The Constitutional Court last month dismissed Pistorius’s application for leave to appeal to that court against the SCA ruling.
Pistorius was released from prison into correctional supervision in October last year after serving about a year of his fiveyear jail term for culpable homicide.
Pistorius’s father‚ Henke‚ and sister‚ Aimee‚ were seated in the first row of the public gallery in the court during proceedings.
After proceedings Henke embraced a supporter of Pistorius who handed him a flag bearing the words “. . . for Oscar”.
Henke greeted other supporters outside court who had words of encouragement for him.
Supporters of Pistorius flew into South Africa from various countries to express their dismay at what they called a “trial by media” and a “miscarriage of justice”.
Heather Malcherczyk from the United Kingdom said she and friends had travelled to South Africa a few days ago to support Pistorius.
“I’ve always believed it was a terrible accident. He has no history of violence. No history of domestic violence. He is disabled . . . This is a violent country. He acted out of fear‚” she said.
Elizabeth McGill from the US said she sympathised with Pistorius because she had been “paranoid” with fear when she lived in South Africa between 1983 and 1998.