What appears to be the lunch box of Oscar Pistorius on the bench where he is meant to sit, Wednesday, 5 March 2014. Journalists are waiting inside the courtroom where Pistorius is set to appear. The Double amputee and Paralympian is appearing in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, South Africa in connection with the murder of model Reeva Steenkamp on February 14, 2013. Picture: Alon Skuy/ Pool
They included Samantha Taylor, who previously dated Pistorius.
She entered the court flanked by companions. She was dressed in a black dress. She spoke to the prosecution briefly and was then led out of court through a side door.
Pistorius is on trial for shooting dead his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, through a locked bathroom door. He said he had mistaken her for an intruder.
Shortly after the shooting, Taylor came forward, saying Pistorius had previously fired a gun through the open sunroof of her car.
Also in court was boxer Kevin Lerena, a friend of Pistorius, dressed in a black suit, white shirt and red tie.
He was with Pistorius at a Melrose Arch restaurant when Pistorius accidentally fired a gun, missing Lerena’s foot.
The incident occurred days before Steenkamp’s death. Lerena reportedly said the restaurant shooting was an accident.
Also attending Wednesday’s proceedings was Gauteng premier Nomvula Mokonyane.
Dressed in black, she walked to a relative of Steenkamp, gave her a hug and sat next to her in the bench reserved for the Steenkamp and Pistorius families.
Several members of the ANC Women’s League accompanied Mokonyane to court.
Pinned on their official green and black uniforms was a picture of Reeva Steenkamp.
– Sapa
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