Johannesburg - With just three weeks to go before Oscar Pistorius stands trial, investigators still don’t have access to information locked inside the Blade Runner’s Apple cellphone, it was reported on Monday morning.
However, police refused to comment on this allegation and said they were ready to proceed with the trial.
Eyewitness News reported on Monday morning that investigators were battling to get the green light from the FBI for mutual assistance in the investigation.
Pistorius shot Reeva Steenkamp dead in his Pretoria home on Valentine’s Day last year, but he has claimed he mistook her for an intruder.
The FBI’s go-ahead was apparently crucial in getting contact with Apple, the technology company needed to analyse encrypted data on Pistorius’s phone, EWN reported.
Pistorius’s trial is due to begin in three weeks, and is set down until March 20.
Pistorius has claimed he forgot his Apple ID, which is needed to log into his iPhone to analyse the data.
But Lieutenant-General Solomon Makgale, national police commissioner General Riah Phiyega’s spokesman, said the police and prosecutors were ready to proceed with the trial.
“We have all the evidence that we need for the case against Oscar Pistorius. We remain confident that he has a case to answer to and the evidence we have against him is solid,” Makgale said.
EWN said police had received supporting documents from Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair and director of public prosecutions Sibongile Mzinyathi and sent copies of the documents to the FBI three weeks ago, but the American bureau wanted the originals before they considered the request.
Last week acting Gauteng police commissioner Lieutenant-General Lesetja Mothiba said the police were confident about their case against Pistorius.
The Star