Johannesburg - Oscar Pistorius told his Twitter followers the three sentences he penned for his dead girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, were expressed from “my heart”. But to PR guru Marcus Brewster, the brief tribute was contrived and insincere.
“Oscar’s statement is overly polished, and so refined as to undercut the sincerity of it. If it was sincere, my question is why was the comment not made on another day? He would tell us how he really misses her (Steenkamp) every day that he wakes up. But every other day he has been silent.
“He has only chosen to come out of the woodwork now, specifically on the anniversary day (of the murder). We all knew February 14 was the ‘green-for-go day’ for all global and local media to start covering the case in earnest.”
Yesterday Pistorius expressed his “sorrow” through a short statement linked from his Twitter account to his website. “No words can adequately capture my feelings about the devastating accident that has caused such heartache for everyone who truly loved – and continues to love Reeva,” the Paralympic medallist wrote.
The pain and sadness – especially for Reeva’s parents, family and friends – consumes me with sorrow. The loss of Reeva and the complete trauma of that day, I will carry with me for the rest of my life.”
However, Brewster said: “It’s not emotional at all. You can see this by the structure of the sentences. They are very contrived, calculated statements. The language, the way they (Pistorius’s media team) are referring to the shooting as an accident, they are already starting to play the defence’s game.
“Nothing in this trial is happening randomly or in isolation. From the Oscar camp, there is obviously an incredible strategy; this is thought out, planned and controlled. It has to be. You don’t go into the trial of the century – and it’s not too early to use that term – without it.”
An independent reputation consultant, who did not want to be named, believed Pistorius was communicating his “internalised feelings” over Steenkamp’s death. But he also questioned the timing of the statement. “I would have thought constant messages about that kind of pain should have been communicated earlier.” - Saturday Star