Former Paralympian Oscar Pistorius caused a buzz after his first public appearance since leaving jail in January 2024.
Oscar Pistorius Free After Parole
The “Blade Runner” walked scot-free on 5 January 2024 after the Department of Correctional Services released him on parole. Pistorius had been in chains since 2016 for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in a bathroom on Valentine’s Day in 2013. The court sentenced him to 13 years in confinement.
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At the beginning of the year, Oscar Pistorius left prison and went to his uncle’s home in Waterkloof, an opulent Pretoria suburb. The Department of Correctional Services is supervising him until 2019 when his sentence lapses. He will also attend gender-based violence and anger management programmes as another of his parole conditions.
The conditions bar him from drinking alcohol, and he will need permission to travel anywhere or get a job.
Futile Attempts To Get A Job
Since attaining freedom, Oscar Pistorius has been hunting for employment in many quarters. However, the stains on his name are scaring people away. Over a decade after winning medals, the Blade Runner approached two members of the International Paralympic Committee, New York Post heard. They turned him down.
“He’s too toxic to work with now. There’s nothing for him here,” one of the members clarified.
Rudely awakened by the gravity of his situation, Pistorius became a volunteer at the NG Kerk Waterkloof, the Dutch Reformed Church where his uncle attends.
He now does cleaning, repair, and light maintenance work.
Oscar Pistorius Smiles As He Makes His First Public Appearance
Recently, brisk Netwerk24 photographers spotted Pistorius in public. The former sprinter looked clean in a crispy white shirt tucked in creaseless khaki pants and comfortable brown shoes. Oscar then draped himself in a warm grey coat, hands in pockets. He drove himself in an SUV to run a few tasks in Pretoria.
On stepping out of the car, Pistorius looked gleeful as one suspected carguard trailed him.
However, age is catching up with him, and his slowly receding hair is greying. The convicted murderer looks frailer without the athletic frame he had before jail. He also seems to have shed the kilos he gained at Atteridgeville Correctional Services.
South Africans Notice The Change, Share Mixed Sentiments
Nathi:
“He looks older than the time he got arrested.”
Bothwell:
“He looks whole.”
Ayanda:
“Send him back.”
James:
“He probably needs to set up a social media page and have a live stream to greet South Africans live.”
Sibuda:
“He must go cry ko Podcast and chill, I wonder if usakwazi ukujigima nje I 28 lenkosi shem🤦♂️