Johannesburg - Keeping Oscar Pistorius behind bars for 363 days has cost South African taxpayers at least R108 000.
However, the cost of keeping the disgraced Olympian behind bars could be as much as R120 000 if inflation is taken into account.
That’s because the Department of Correctional Services last released figures as to how much it costs to keep a prisoner behind bars two years ago.
Had Pistorius served his entire term in jail, his stay at the Kgosi Mampuru II centre would have cost taxpayers around R600 000.
In the then minister’s 2013 budget speech, Sbu Ndebele said it costs the taxpayer around R9 000 a month to keep a prisoner in jail, which amounts to just under R300 a day.
The athlete went to jail just under a year ago after being sentenced to five years behind bars by Judge Thokozile Masipa.
Pistorius was sentenced to five years for culpable homicide after shooting his then girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp fatally on Valentine’s Day 2013. He also received a three-year sentence that was suspended for five years for discharging a firearm at Tasha’s restaurant in Sandton, Johannesburg, in January 2013.
During the trial, Pistorius testified that he accidentally shot dead Steenkamp through a locked bathroom door at his Pretoria home as he thought she was an intruder.
Pistorius was released late on Monday evening and will now be under correctional supervision until October 20, 2019.
Offenders may be released into correctional supervision after spending one sixth of their sentence behind bars. This release is subject to conditions imposed by the the Parole Board and Community Corrections.
It is not yet clear exactly what conditions have been imposed on Pistorius as the details are confidential, although IOL understands his freedom of movement is limited.
If he is subject to electronic monitoring, this would cost taxpayers at least R3 379 a month, based on 2013 figures. This would amount to around R163 000 for the remainder of his sentence.
Ndebele noted in 2013 that electronic monitoring enables offenders to be monitored within metres, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“Should an offender commit any violation, alerts are immediately generated and transmitted. Interference with the equipment, including tampering or failing to charge the receiver, is electronically relayed to the control room,” he said in 2013.
IOL