Blade runner and former Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius will be released from prison after nearly eleven years of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Pistorius killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp after shooting her multiple times through a bathroom door on Valentine’s Day in 2013.
He was jailed for 13 years and five months for her murder in 2016, although he claimed he mistook her for an intruder.
Pistorius, now 37, will be released on parole on January 5, South Africa’s Department of Correctional Services said.
It noted that the Pistorius will be monitored by the authorities “just like all other parolees” until the expiration of his sentence.
He will not be able to leave the area of Waterkloof, where he will be staying with family.
“Parole does not mean the end of the sentence. It is still part of the sentence. It only means the inmate will complete the sentence outside a correctional facility,” Department spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said.
“The conditions, what’s important about them, is that they are there to assist an inmate to adjust, and also to address if there are still other areas that require attention,” he added.
Other conditions include attending therapy for anger management, avoid consumption of alcohol and drugs.
In South Africa, serious offenders must serve at least half their sentence to be eligible for parole, which Pistorius has done.
Ms Steenkamp’s mother June did not attend the parole hearing saying: “I simply cannot muster the energy to face him again at this stage”.
However, in a letter read out to the parole board ahead of the ruling, she did not oppose his release but wondered whether Pistorius’s “huge anger issues” were truly dealt with in prison.
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.
