Pretoria: Oscar Pistorius remains at a facility in Gqeberha as the Department of Correctional Services prepares for his victim/offender dialogue in view of his possible parole hearing.
Correctional Services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika that the double-amputee Olympic sprinter was yet to meet June and Barry Steenkamp, the parents of murdered Reeva Steenkamp.
“He has been in Gqeberha since, I think, December last year, specifically for the purposes of the victim/offender dialogue. There is what we call a preparatory phase. You do not want to take the two groups to a formal seating when you have not engaged with them and test whether they are ready for such an engagement,” said Nxumalo.
“We are still busy with that. We are meeting with the family of Reeva Steenkamp and those preparations are taking place. There has been quite a number of engagements. The moment all parties are ready, that engagement will take place but we cannot take a risk and put the two (parties) together when one or both of them are not ready.”
Nxumalo said the process was “very sensitive and it has to be managed quite carefully”.
Last year, Independent Media reported that Pistorius had been moved to a prison in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape, with the purpose to meet the Steenkamps. The aims was for the parties to speak to each other as part of Pistorius’s forthcoming parole hearing.
In an interview with “Good Morning Britain” last year, the parents of Reeva Steenkamp said they wanted the truth about what really happened the day Reeva was killed. They said Pistorius must pay for what he did.
The Steenkamps revealed the loss became harder as time passed.
“One day I would like to talk to Oscar, man-to-man. We feel there are still a lot of things to come out of this story and we are hoping that Oscar will tell us the truth,” said Reeva’s father, Barry Steenkamp.
He clarified that he was the one who wanted to chat to Oscar “if possible”.
When asked if they thought Pistorius felt sorry for what he had done, he said it was a difficult question to answer.
“Once the deed has been done, 90% of people will feel remorse. The 10% don’t care and they are the ones who shouldn’t get out of prison. Naturally, if you kill somebody, sooner or later, you will feel remorse, whether it’s for yourself or for the family,” he told Good Morning Britain.
June Steenkamp said he had shown no remorse.
“I think he will only show remorse if it contributes to his getting out of jail. We don’t have the full story. He changed his mind three times under oath”, she said, adding that all they wanted was the truth.
“It’s been a horror for us,” she said in the interview.
June said an apology was not enough.
“’Sorry’ is not enough for losing her life. She was wonderful and her whole future was ahead of her. He took everything away from her and us. But I forgave him. I forgave him through God. God asked me to forgive him but that doesn’t mean he must not pay for what he has done,” the heartbroken mother said.
She insisted that the athlete must serve his full 13-year sentence.
IOL