South African former professional sprinter and convicted murderer, Oscar Pistorius has been handed a security warning he could become a target for assassins as he is set to be released from a South African prison on parole.
The Paralympic gold medallist was convicted of murdering his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, whom he shot multiple times through the bathroom door at their Pretoria home in 2013.
He was granted an early release from prison on November 24, 2023, after a parole board review determined the 37-year-old was fit for social reintegration, and set his release date for January 5 of this year
But now, the man once known as ‘Bladerunner’ for his carbon-fibre leg prosthetics could be targeted by those sympathetic to the Steenkamps after one self-confessed hitman attended a court hearing and was seen staring intently at the athlete, before getting into an argument with members of his family.
Singabakho Nxumalo, an official from South Africa’s Department of Correctional Services (DCS), added to suspicions that Pistorius could be attacked in a statement earlier this week when he said logistical details of the athlete’s release will not be disclosed.
‘The details in terms of transportation plans and time of release shall not be made public. Disclosing such details may result in a security threat for the inmate and other stakeholders involved,’ he said.
In line with South Africa’s victim-centred justice system, Pistorius will also be unable to give any statement to the media, nor can he profit from any endeavour that in any way publicises or is linked to the death of Steenkamp.
‘Just like other parolees, Pistorius is restricted from conducting media interviews,’ the DCS statement read.
‘An elevated public profile linked to Pistorius does not make him different from other inmates nor warrant inconsistent treatment,’ it added.
Mark Williams-Thomas, a journalist and friend of Pistorius who visited him in prison, told The Times the Bladerunner ‘was never put on a pedestal (in prison), quite the opposite’.
‘There is still a lot of anger out there and no doubt there are those who would love the scalp of Oscar Pistorius,’ Williams-Thomas said, adding that over the course of his detention, the once chiselled athlete has become a bloated and grey smoker.
Upon leaving prison, Pistorius will be under the supervision of the DCS and will be subject to parole conditions until his sentence expires in December 2029.
He will be assigned a monitoring official, who will have to be kept informed when Pistorius is seeking job opportunities or moving homes.
As part of the conditions, Pistorius will also have to attend programmes on gender-based violence and continue therapy sessions on anger management, a lawyer for the Steenkamp family said shortly after he was granted parole.
Pistorius is set to retire to a cottage on land owned by his uncle just outside Pretoria.
The estate is fortified by armed guards, security technology, and canine patrols, which should provide a high level of protection from media attention and potential attackers that may descend on the compound following his release.
The Johannesburg-born athlete gained global fame in the early 2000s when he won Paralympic gold in the 200 metres at the Games in Athens.
Pistorius then set his sights on running against able-bodied athletes at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but was barred from competing in the event by governing bodies.
The ban was eventually overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but Pistorius failed to qualify for the Olympics, coming within 0.70 seconds of the qualifying standard for the 400 metres in Beijing.
He swept that year’s Paralympics, taking home the 100, 200 and 400-metre gold medals, before launching a bid to qualify for the 2012 Olympics in London.
His glittering career was ruined on February 14, 2013, in a Valentine’s Day horror when he shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Pistorius told the trial he had believed Steenkamp was an intruder when he shot her several times with ammunition designed to inflict maximum damage to the human body.
