Pretoria - Murder accused paralympian Oscar Pistorius and his family distanced themselves on Tuesday from a report relating to the family's use of weapons.
“The Pistorius family owns weapons purely for sport and hunting purposes,” his uncle Arnold Pistorius said in a statement, which was issued by Vuma Reputation Management.
Arnold was responding to comments by Pistorius's father Henke in the British newspapers, The Telegraph and The Daily Mirror, that the family used weapons to defend themselves against crime in South Africa, and that the African National Congress government was not willing to protect white South Africans.
Henke Pistorius reportedly told the newspapers he could not rely on the police for protection because they were inefficient.
Arnold Pistorius said the comments did not represent the views of Oscar Pistorius and his family.
“Oscar Pistorius's family is deeply concerned about the comments made by Oscar's father, Henke Pistorius, to UK newspaper the Telegraph...,” he said in the statement.
“Oscar and the rest of the Pistorius family distances itself from the comments. Henke's interview with the newspaper was unapproved by our media liaison team.”
Pistorius faces a murder charge after shooting dead his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
He was granted bail of R1 million by the Pretoria Magistrate's Court last month. His next court appearance is on June 4.
Steenkamp was cremated in a private ceremony in Port Elizabeth on February 19. - Sapa