Johannesburg -
Oscar Pistorius’s alleged shenanigans in an upmarket Johannesburg nightclub in July - when he and another patron were told to leave - nearly came back to bite him on Friday.
This and the fact that he had sold all three of the properties he owned, prompted the State to ask North Gauteng High Court Judge Thokozile Masipa to withdraw his bail.
Pistorius spent a nail-biting hour in the holding cells while Judge Masipa made up her mind about whether to extend his bail or not.
After legal arguments in this regard, the judge adjourned the court, which meant Pistorius was in limbo regarding his freedom.
He appeared surprised and shocked as the court orderlies directed him towards the holding cells.
However, he looked relieved on hearing shortly after lunch that the judge had ruled his bail would be extended.
But if prosecutor Gerrie Nel had had his way, the Blade Runner would be behind bars this weekend.
He objected to the application by advocate Barry Roux to have his client’s bail extended, saying Pistorius’s position had now changed since bail was granted last year by the lower court, shortly after the Valentine’s Day shooting.
At the time he owned property in Gauteng, including his upmarket Silverwoods Country Estate home where the shooting happened.
Nel said that Pistorius had now sold all three of his properties, including two townhouses in Equestria, a suburb in the east of Pretoria.
The Paralympian now lived with his uncle, Arnold, and his aunt, Lois, in their Waterkloof home, Nel said.
“There is nothing to hold him in the country,” the prosecutor said, suggesting that Pistorius could be a flight risk.
He also referred to the recent incident at The VIP Room in the Michelangelo Towers in Sandton, when a patron, Jared Mortimer, said the athlete had insulted him and his friends and poked him in the chest.
He admitted that he had pushed the “drunk” Pistorius away from him and that the latter fell back, before the bouncers asked them both to leave.
Nel referred to the response by the Pistorius family in this regard, who said his extreme emotional pain was making him “self-harm” by going to clubs while the dark cloud of the trial hung over his head.
This “self-harm” tied in with the finding by psychologist Professor Jonathan Scholtz that Pistorius might be a suicide risk.
Roux responded: “Quite frankly, he should not have gone to a public place, as this would invite problems.”
But Roux said this did not prove he had suicide tendencies, as “he is still here today”.
Saturday Star