The South African Olympic and Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius was granted bail on Friday 22 February after being charged with the murder of his girlfriend.
“I come to the conclusion that the accused has made a case to be released on bail,” said magistrate Desmond Nair after summing up the case for over two hours in a Pretoria courtroom.
According to the magistrate, the prosecution failed to prove that Pistorius would be a danger or a flight risk if on bail.
Pistorius was ordered to pay €85,000 and to remain away from his home in an affluent Pretoria suburb – where he killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on St Valentine’s Day.
The magistrate also directed the athlete to stay away from airports and to hand any guns he owns.
“Whatever happens is not going to bring Reeva back,” said the victim’s family in a statement in reaction to the bail.
During the bail hearing that took place between the 15 and 22 February, Pistorius burst into tears as details of the killing were read out. The prosecution argued that the athlete committed a premeditated murder.
According to prosecutor Gerrie Nel, he put on his prosthetic legs before taking his 9mm pistol and shooting his girlfriend through the locked bathroom door of the house they shared, hitting her three times.
Nel said Steemkamp “could go nowhere. He shot, killed an unarmed innocent woman.”
Pistorius denied that the murder was premeditated. In an affidavit read out in court by his lawyer, he explained he had fired shots at the bathroom door because he thought there was a burglar and felt vulnerable without his prosthetic legs.
He said he thought his girlfriend was still in bed and had no intention to kill her.
“We were deeply in love and couldn’t be more happy,” he said in the affidavit.
Oscar Pistorius became a hero in South Africa after becoming the first double leg amputee competing against able-bodied runners at an Olympic Games in London last year.
The athlete also ran at the 2012 Paralympic Games where he won two gold medals as well as a silver.
Meanwhile, the sportsman nicknamed the ‘Blade Runner’ will be back in court in June for his murder trial.
Reeva Steemkamp’s killing has sparked reactions on South Africa’s gun culture. Many South Africans live in a permanent fear of crime, which leads growing numbers of middle class families to relocate to gated neighbourhoods behind electrified fences, motion detectors and armed security patrols.
