*This article has been edited
Apology to Oscar and his family
IOL hereby wishes to apologise to Oscar Pistorius and his family unreservedly for the following:
* Stating as fact that the Department of Correctional Services had built Pistorius a bath in his cell, instead of a bath in his cell block; and that he had “grumbled” about his bed
* Not asking the family for comment on the allegation that Pistorius was allowed to prepare his own food, that he was paranoid about being poisoned, and that officials conceded to Pistorius’s demands that new equipment be installed in the gymnasium.
*Visit www.presscouncil.org.za for the full finding.
Johannesburg - The Department of Correctional Services built Oscar Pistorius a bath in his cell at the Kgosi Mampuru Prison because he complained that he wanted to take a bath.
The disgraced athlete grumbled about his bed – and the department replaced his bed for him.
Murasiet Mentoor, the regional manager of the Judicial Inspectorate, confirmed to Saturday Star on Friday his recent comments on CNN that he’d been asked to review a number of Pistorius’s complaints about his living conditions.
Mentoor said officials had also conceded to Pistorius’s demands that new equipment be installed in the prison gym.
He also revealed how Pistorius was given permission to prepare his own food – because the athlete was paranoid about being poisoned.
Mentoor said Pistorius’s fame and disability made the hospital wing the only viable choice for containing him – as he would have become a target for violence in the overcrowded cells where 50 or more prisoners are crammed into spaces meant for half that number.
“If you’re a high-profile inmate, you’re at risk because other inmates and gangsters within the Correctional Services will target you,” he said.
Prison officers Violet Ngobeni and Boitumelo Morake also told CNN how excited the runner had been about the prospect of seeing his family and friends when they last saw him a few days ago.
“When he first arrived, he was angry,” said Ngobeni, outside the jail. “But now he can sit down and discuss and laugh at the same time,” he said.
Mentoor said he would be visiting Pistorius on Monday.
Pistorius, 28, was jailed for five years in October 2014 for shooting dead his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
He was told on Wednesday that he wouldn’t be released from prison after serving one-sixth of his sentence.
Justice Minister Michael Masutha said he had decided to stop Pistorius’s release, saying the decision was “premature”.
Pistorius now faces legal battles on two fronts – a review of the decision to free him into house arrest, and a bid to have him convicted of murder, which was launched this week.
William Booth, an experienced defence attorney, said the paralympian would have to remain behind bars until the Parole Review Board meets next.
However, the chairperson of the board could arrange to convene urgently if its next sitting is not any time soon, he said.
Booth added that “the Justice Minister has had many weeks in which to raise an issue with this, and didn’t”.
“He’s left it until the 11th hour, after coming under pressure from a woman’s rights organisation.”
But he said Pistorius could, in any event, end up in prison for a long time: “There’s a good chance that Pistorius’s conviction for culpable homicide is overturned in favour of a murder conviction, and in that event his sentence would be increased substantially.”
The sprinter had been due to walk free from the prison in Pretoria just two days after what would have been Reeva’s 32nd birthday.
August is also Women’s Month in South Africa. The timing of Pistorius’s release had provoked widespread condemnation.
On Friday Mbuyiselo Botha, from Sonke Gender Justice, said recent events had given the country the opportunity to reflect upon the Domestic Violence Act and interrogate it.
Liz Giles, advocacy and communications manager at the Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre, said the focus on the objection of the Progressive Women’s Movement of South Africa to Pistorius’s release during Women’s Month distracts from more important “point of law” issues.
“There are questions that require answering around not only… the Parole Board’s decision… but also the nature and timing of the Minister of Justice’s intervention. The women of South Africa need a legal system that functions and adheres to the mandate under which it is constituted without bias or preference, 365 days of the year,” Giles said.
* Additional reporting by Fatima Schroeder and Daily Mail
Saturday Star