A file picture dated March 3 shows South African housewife Lauren Wentzel watching a dedicated 24-hour television channel covering the trial of Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius from her shack in the Red Hill informal settlement outside Cape Town.

Reuters/Pretoria

 

A judge will pass sentence on athlete Oscar Pistorius today for killing his girlfriend after one of the most sensational murder trials in South Africa’s history – and the decision could fuel controversy over the state of the country’s justice system.

The Olympic and Paralympic runner was convicted of culpable homicide last month for shooting dead 29-year-old law graduate and model Reeva Steenkamp at his home in Pretoria in February 2013.

Judge Thokozile Masipa cleared Pistorius of the more serious charge of murder, saying that prosecutors had failed to prove his intent to kill when he fired four 9mm rounds through the door of a toilet cubicle in what he said was the mistaken belief an intruder was lurking behind it.

State prosecutor Gerrie Nel said at the sentencing hearing last week that only 10 years imprisonment would satisfy the South African public.

They would lose their faith in the justice system if Pistorius avoids jail, Nel said.

Defence lawyer Barry Roux said, however, that the double-amputee sprinter should be given community service because his sorrow and regret at being killing the woman he loved was the worst punishment of all.

He also said Pistorius, whose lower legs were amputated as a baby, would face particular difficulties in prison.

The 27-year-old sprinter, known as “Blade Runner” because of the carbon-fibre prosthetics he made famous at the London 2012 Olympics, could also be given a suspended sentence or house arrest.

If Pistorius avoids a custodial sentence, the court decision could inflame public anger and fuel a perception among black South Africans that, 20 years after the end of apartheid, wealthy whites can still secure preferential justice.

Indicating the public mood, a cartoon by satirist Zapiro in the Sunday Times mocked a potential sentence of house arrest.

It depicted Pistorius popping champagne with friends in a sports car, while an ankle tag bleeped on a pair of prosthetics left inside his house.

Opinion among legal experts is divided on the outcome.

“I personally believe, given the severity of the crime and the high degree of negligence, there will be quite a long period of direct imprisonment,” said Mannie Witz, a Johannesburg-based advocate.

“Some lawyers are speculating that it could be community supervision (house arrest), which means you can leave for work and church services, as long as you are inside from 6pm-6am. This can be up to a maximum of five years.”

The six-month-long trial captivated South Africans and many people around the world who had admired the athlete as a symbol of triumph over physical adversity.

With its glamorous victim, tears and tragedy, and Pistorius’ fall from grace, it has been endlessly discussed.

It also highlighted the country’s endemic violence – in domestic situations in which women suffer abuse from their partners, and also in its high crime rate.

The claim that Pistorius feared his home had been invaded struck a chord with some South Africans.

Pistorius’ sister Aimee said yesterday that the shooting and trial had been damaging for everyone.

“The guilt and ridicule that surrounds it as well as the exposure ... and just the heartache for both my brother, my family and of course the Steenkamp family,” she told South Africa’s ENCA television.

 

Pistorius siblings speak out on eve of sentencing

 

Oscar Pistorius’s brother and sister gave a string of television interviews yesterday ahead of the sentencing of South Africa’s star athlete for the fatal shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

The Paralympian could be jailed for 10 years or ordered to serve house arrest today when High Court Judge Thokozile Masipa hands down her sentence.

The judge had last month acquitted the double amputee track star of murder, but found him guilty of culpable homicide, a conviction whose penalty ranges from a fine to time behind bars.

The prosecution wants him locked away for 10 years while the defence argued for three years of “correctional supervision”, which is the equivalent of house arrest.

The defence also suggested that while serving house arrest Pistorius could do 16 hours of community service a month, cleaning a Pretoria museum.

“It’s obvious we can’t speculate what the outcome will be tomorrow,” said older brother Carl Pistorius in an interview with the eNCA television channel. “It has been a taxing 20 months ... and no doubt tomorrow will also be difficult.”

It was the first time Carl and younger sister Aimee have spoken publicly since the fatal shooting.

Aimee said the family had struggled to come to terms with Steenkamp’s death.

She said Steenkamp had become part of the Pistorius family in the months the couple had been together.

“It’s important for us that they (Steenkamp’s family) know that she was very much cared for and loved and accepted as part of our family in the short time that she was with us,” Aimee said.

“She had a wonderful charisma,” and it was “easy to fall in love with her”, she added.

The siblings vowed to stand with Pistorius as he faces his fate.

“We have a strong faith and we stand strong,” Carl said.