Did Oscar say “fine” or “okay”?

“He said to me ‘security, everything is fine’,” security guard Pieter Baba said to questioning from Barry Roux, SC, for Pistorius.

Baba, employed at the Silver Woods Country estate in Pretoria where Pistorius shot dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, was testifying about what Pistorius said to him after he called him on the phone over gunshots heard from his house.

Roux started digging into his statement, asking whether Pistorius said “he is okay” or “everything is okay”, and whether he said “okay” or “fine”.

An exasperated Baba sighed, lowered his head and repeated, slowly: “My Lady, the exact words were ‘security, everything is fine’.”

Roux replied dryly: “We’ll deal with that on Monday.”

There were giggles from the public gallery.

Prosecutor Gerry Nel then asked Judge Thokozile Masipa whether could court start at 10am on Monday, instead of 9.30am, as this day had ” its own character”.

“What character?” Masipa asked, smiling.

“My Lady, everything goes wrong on Monday,” Nel replied, to laughter.

He eventually dropped his request and Masipa said court would start at 9.30am.

Pistorius is accused of the murder of model and law graduate Reeva Steenkamp on February 14 last year. He is also charged with illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, and two counts of discharging a firearm in public.

He allegedly fired a shot from a Glock pistol under a table at a Johannesburg restaurant in January 2013.

In September 2010 he allegedly shot through the open sunroof of a car with his 9mm pistol while driving with friends in Modderfontein.

– Sapa