Department of correctional services mum on Oscar Pistorius prison transfer

Convicted murderer and Paralympian Oscar Pistorius who killed model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day eight years ago has reportedly been transferred to a prison in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) in the Eastern Cape.

Department of Correctional Services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo could not confirm to The Citizen on Sunday afternoon whether or not Pistorius was indeed moved to the Eastern Cape.

However, according to a report in the HeraldLive, Pistorius arrived at the St Albans Correctional Centre late on Friday evening. A warden, who did not want to be named, told the publication that Pistorius is temporarily being kept in a single cell away from everyone else.

This ‘move’ is believed to be a part of Oscar’s victim-offender dialogue. During an interview earlier in November, Nxumalo told The Citizen that part of the process was to create an opportunity for reconciliation or an apology to be made for all the parties to find each other.

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When news of Pistorius’ early parole first broke, attorney and spokesperson for Steenkamp’s parents, Tania Koen said in a statement that the Steenkamps were willing to participate in the victim-offender dialogue.

It is not yet clear if, and when Pistorius will meet with the Steenkamps.

Koen did however, tell HeraldLive that Steenkamp’s parents are aware that Pistorius has been transferred to the St Albans Correctional Centre.

Pistorius was initially sentenced to six years in prison for culpable homicide after he was convicted of shooting and killing Steenkamp through the door of a locked bathroom cubicle inside his Tshwane home.

Later, the charge was changed to murder and an additional 13 years was added to his sentence, following an appeal by the state for a longer prison sentence.

Pistorius was initially only set to be eligible for parole in March 2023, but the Supreme Court of Appeal failed to account for “time served” when Pistorius’ charge was upgraded from culpable homicide to murder in 2017. It did not consider that Pistorius had already served more than 500 days behind bars.

Additional reporting by Marizka Coetzer

Compiled by Xanet Scheepers