Charity work a marketing tool, Pistorius’s agent tells court

“For sportsmen to be involved in charities, that’s not peculiar to Mr Pistorius?” prosecutor Gerrie Nel asked Pistorius’s agent Petrus van Zyl during sentencing proceedings.

“That’s correct,” Van Zyl replied.

Nel was cross-examining Van Zyl, who on Monday listed for the defence the charities and brands Pistorius had been involved with during his athletics career.

“It’s merely an advancement of your career to be involved,” said Nel.

“One can look at it like that,” replied Van Zyl in a clear, confident voice.

Asked to explain what his work as an agent involved, Van Zyl listed securing competitions, “maximising income potential” with sponsorships and endorsements, and taking care of their tax affairs and investments.

On September 12 Pistorius was found guilty of the culpable homicide of his girlfriend, model and law graduate Reeva Steenkamp, but not guilty of her murder.

Pistorius had claimed he thought there was a burglar in his toilet when he fired four shots through the locked door in the early hours of February 14 last year, killing Steenkamp. The State had argued he killed her during an argument.

Judge Thokozile Masipa also found Pistorius guilty of discharging firearm in public, when he shot from his friend Darren Fresco’s Glock pistol under a table at Tasha’s restaurant in Melrose Arch, Johannesburg, in January 2013.

Pistorius was found not guilty on two firearms-related charges – illegal possession of ammunition, and shooting through the open sunroof of a car with his 9mm pistol while driving with friends in Modderfontein on September 30, 2012.

– Sapa

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