Reeva Steenkamp killed

If anyone thought for a moment that South African justice would somehow apply to murderer Oscar Pistorius, such expectations were dashed again a couple of weeks ago, as reported here, when he was back in Pretoria’s High Court to ask for bail. Unbelievable it was granted once more despite his new murder conviction, so again he is still not behind bars and has gained another four months of virtual freedom, staying in luxury, while his victim Reeva Steenkamp lies dead  – but then of course he has been allowed bail time and time again in equally astounding circumstances, hasn’t he? Moreover, he reported that he was broke, so the Judge agreed that he has only to lodge bail of a derisory £450 despite him continuing to employ a top legal outfit that has consisted of two renowned Barristers with an additional legal team of lawyers and experts costing many-many thousands (over five grand a day at one time), eh? He had certainly already spent a million pounds or more in the under two years up to his conviction – and another year has passed since then (who is picking-up the tab, if he is broke?).

Part of his apparent justification for further bail was telling the Judge that he was applying to the SA Constitutional Court in appeal against his murder conviction by the Supreme Court of Appeal (which seems to have been taken into account in giving bail?). It has now been disclosed that his highly paid smart-arse’d lawyers’ grounds for such leave to appeal is based on the claim that the big-boy Judges had reconsidered a ‘factual’ finding (that he feared for life), when only points of law were valid; and that specific issue denied him a right of appeal; furthermore they dealt wrongly with the matter of self defence; they were also mistaken in their handling of the principle of dolus eventualis (a killer foreseeing the possibility of actions causing death); or anything else they can dream-up in the meantime.

If the defence is right in their accusations, then five of the most senior judges in South Africa are in fact dunces who don’t even know the South African law, eh? The SA legal opinion on the wires is that Pistorius’ team’s chances of getting anywhere with the Constitutional Court hearing his appeal, is at best slim. Also, suggestions that he can complain about his trial (particularly the televising and media presence), won’t be valid because he can now only generate grounds emerging from the Appeal Court’s ruling.

However, if that trick to avoid justice doesn’t work, you don’t think he is finished by a long chalk do you? Oh no, it is said he could then even approach the Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng head of that court directly, to ask him to reconsider its decision. When Pistorius reappears in the High Court for murder sentencing on April 18, he will obviously report on the progress of the planned appeal the Constitutional Court. No doubt he will delay anyway such an application as long as possible (he now has until mid-January to file it) so he can ask for further time on bail because all avenues haven’t been concluded, or even say if the Court will hear the case but hasn’t made a final ruling? The way this High Court works he would probably get bail, wouldn’t he? Oh yes, SA justice is a devious game, isn’t it?

Whatever happens in this matter you can be sure of some things, can’t you? If the murder convictions really sticks, Pistorius will demand the minimum sentence, and then he will spend the next remaining bit of a 15 years prison term driving a coach and horses through the SA Justice System (as he has done over the past three years since he murdered Reeva, eh?), and demanding special treatment at every turn – that is how it seems to work in South Africa when you are an international celebrity with access to riches, even if you are a murderer, eh? His ‘get-out-of-jail card’ is of course that he is ‘disabled’ so HAS to be given unique dispensation and facilities – that is despite the fact that he has always lived his whole life without issue in the able-bodied world and never ever asked to be treated any differently (even demanding successfully to be allowed to compete against renowned élite world athletes!).

[Defence lead advocate, three and a half thousand pounds a day, cross-examination mastermind, Barry Roux is as obsessive in getting Oscar Pistorius off, as top State Prosecutor “Bulldog”, tenacious, Gerrie Nel is in keeping him behind bars and him getting proper condemnation for murdering Reeva Steenkamp – most people know who they want to win that one, don’t they?]