Oscar’s bail extended

“I have used my discretion in favour of the accused. I grant the application to extend the bail of the accused,” Judge Thokozile Masipa ruled at 1pm.

At his bail hearing last year, Pistorius was granted bail of R1 million.

Explaining her decision, Masipa referred to the State’s three arguments for the withdrawal of bail: that he had been convicted of a serious offence; that he had disposed of three of his houses and was thus a flight risk; and his “self-harming” behaviour.

She said the onus was on the State to prove it was not in the interests of justice to release Pistorius on bail.

“I am not so persuaded,” she said.

Masipa found the defence’s explanation that Pistorius had sold his homes to pay for his defence satisfactory.

“I did not hear the State say it was taken by surprise that the properties of the accused were sold.”

She agreed with the defence that the State could at any point in the future apply to have bail withdrawn should it feel it was necessary.

The matter was postponed to October 13 for sentencing proceedings.

Just after her ruling on bail, Masipa warned the defence to tell whoever would be staying with Pistorius that, “there should be no further complications”.

Pistorius’s counsel Barry Roux turned around to look at his uncle Arnold Pistorius and the men nodded.

Masipa earlier found Pistorius not guilty of the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on February 14 last year, but guilty on the lesser charge of culpable homicide.

The paralympian also faced three charges of contravening the Firearms Control Act – one of illegal possession of ammunition and two of discharging a firearm in public.

Masipa found Pistorius not guilty of shooting through the open sunroof of a car with his 9mm pistol while driving with friend Darren Fresco and ex-girlfriend Samantha Taylor in Modderfontein on September 30, 2012.

She found him guilty of firing Fresco’s Glock pistol under a table at Tasha’s restaurant in Johannesburg in January 2013.

On the final charge, illegal possession of ammunition, he was found not guilty.

– Sapa