Oscar Pistorius‘s relatives are to hold a family summit to plan a life for him now he is out of prison – and manage a strategy to keep him safe, MailOnline has learned.
The blade runner athlete’s brother Carl, uncle Arnold, aunt Lois and sister Aimee, who has flown into South Africa from her City job in London, are meeting to draw up a plan to keep him safe in line with the demands of watching parole officers.
The disgraced Paralympian – now a greying, overweight smoker according to a journalist close to him – arrived at his uncle’s estate in Pretoria today where he will reside for five years and see out his sentence, Arnold confirmed to MailOnline.
The family will between them draw up plans on how Pistorius will live following his release from prison today and what work he might turn to – which could even involve him becoming some sort of preacher.
This afternoon, his brother Carl posted a message thought to indicate support for his brother and him having changed since his conviction for the murder of his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp some 11 years ago.
Quoting classical Greek philosopher Heraclitus, he wrote: ‘No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river… and he is not the same man.’
Arnold Pistorius is pictured arriving at his home today after his nephew Oscar Pistorius was released from prison – 11 years after he murdered his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
Arnold is pictured leaving his home today after his nephew Oscar was released from prison
South African Paralympian Oscar Pistorius arrives at the Pretoria High Court for sentencing procedures in his murder trial in Pretoria on June 15, 2016
The disgraced Paralympian – now a greying, overweight smoker according to a journalist close to him – arrived at his uncle’s estate in Pretoria (pictured) today where he will reside for five years and see out his sentence
Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp at the Tasha’s All White Party on January 26, 2012 in Johannesburg, South Africa
Well wishers showed their support with flowers, as good luck messages began pouring in to the Pistorius mansion today. A huge bouquet costing £40 and with carnations, roses and sunflowers with a welcome home card with ‘Oscar Pistorius’ written on it was delivered to security guards at the gates
His nominated custodian is his uncle Arnold, whose luxury mansion he is staying in, has promised officials ‘to assist him to comply with his parole or correctional supervision conditions’.
This could mean offering him a job in his real estate business called Twin Towers which has its offices in a third floor office suite less than a mile from the Pistorius mansion.
The killer worked as a cleaner, drove a tractor and helped at the prison library during his jail term.
Arnold can call on his substantial wealth to provide his beloved nephew with the best minders and security, some who were seen today flexing their muscles outside Pistorius’s new home for the next five years.
The deeply religious family will also support Pistorius in any bid to study to become a Christian preacher, a suggestion that has been widely reported as on his mind.
From the moment they learned that Oscar had fired five bullets at Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013, the family have provided nothing but support and acceptance of his version that it was an accident.
His brother Carl has posted criticism of earlier decisions to deny his freedom, again using a quote, this time from Martin Luther King: ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’
Arnold today confirmed his nephew had arrived at his mansion. The Blade Runner’s sister Aimee was also inside the house having flown in from her City job in London.
The family have been steadfast in their backing of the killer whose failure to accept he intentionally killed Steenkamp has disappointed her mother June.
They were there throughout his court appearances in 2014 and 2015 and have prayed with him for Steenkamp and her family.
The Blade Runner, 37, will be under intense scrutiny from Attenbridgeville Corrections Department parole officers and have to check in daily.
Several gun incidents in the years before the night he murdered Steenkamp and the cold blooded way he gunned her down mean he will undergo therapy to help him with his violent temperament.
He has to accept help against gender based violence, refrain from consuming alcohol and drugs and keep away from weapons.
His whereabouts will be closely monitored and Arnold has signed an official release form in which he undertook ‘to inform the community corrections office if Pistorius violated any of his conditions, misbehaved in public or became ‘involved in any criminal activity’.
He also said he understood that officials could make unscheduled visits to check in on the gun killer and cart him back to jail if they find any evidence of parole violations.
But not all of his previous custodian’s are against him.
Today it was revealed several prison officials at the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre visited Pistorius in the days before his release, hugged him and prayed for him.
Well wishers also showed their support with flowers, as good luck messages began pouring in to the Pistorius mansion. A huge bouquet costing £40 and with carnations, roses and sunflowers with a welcome home card with ‘Oscar Pistorius’ written on it was delivered to security guards at the gates.
It was delivered by local florists Caar’i Flora who confirmed it was from a friend of the disgraced Olympian and cost 1000 rand.
However, as first revealed by Mail Online last year, he will have to constantly keep an eye out over his shoulder as Johannesburg’s underworld are said to have been angered by the murder of Reeva and are out for revenge.
The Blade Runner reached global fame when he won three gold medals at the 2006 Paralympic World Cup and went on to become the first athlete to compete in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
In the years that followed, he would earn $2million (£1.5million) in endorsement deals with the likes of Nike and the luxurious sunglasses brand Oakley.
All that came crashing down in February 2013 when the South African was charged with the murder of Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day.
But with Pistorius’ release from prison today, questions have been raised over whether the athlete could have a future as a sports coach or establish himself as a brand ambassador again.
A player agent and sponsorship management specialist said he could restore his image and even attract brand deals if he proves he has changed and shows remorse for his crimes.
But they say even if this does rebuild his image, it would be hard for any big brands such as Nike and Oakley to take a gamble and back the convicted murderer again.
South African Paralympian Oscar Pistorius is surrounded by police as he arrives at Pretoria High Court to attend a sentencing hearing set to send him back to jail for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on June 13, 2016
The Blade Runner reached global fame when he won three gold medals at the 2006 Paralympic World Cup and went on to become the first athlete to compete in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games (pictured in 2012 Paralympic Games)
All that came crashing down in February 2013 when the South African was charged with the murder of his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp (pictured together in November 2012) on Valentine’s Day
Sports sponsorship management specialist Dumo Mbuli told the Times Live newspaper that to have any chance at a brand deal, Pistorius must show he is remorseful and prove he is rehabilitated.
‘It all depends on him,’ Mbuli said. ‘Has he adjusted, has he shown remorse and proved he is rehabilitated after being sentenced and coming out? Is he reaching out to the people he has hurt? Is that his plan?’
Mbuli added: ‘At the moment the brands have been quiet and they continue to be quiet and do not want to be associated until the level of rehabilitation is shown, the level of remorse and of acceptance.’
Regarding Pistorius potentially going back into athletics, Mbuli said that if the blade runner wanted to, he would need to show what he had been doing in prison.
‘He hasn’t been in sports. A lot of him rebuilding will be him telling his story from being inside prison, being sentenced, what he was doing and what he went through in jail,’ Mbuli said.
He added: ‘What was he doing in terms of activities, what was he doing in terms of social responsibility and in terms of that for himself? He won’t be the athlete we once knew. Much will depend on his level of rehabilitation and mental state.
‘These are the most important things and brands will want to see that. You can come out still performing wonders, but if the character hasn’t changed, brands will not want to be associated with you.’
For player agent Gavin Jones, he does not believe big sponsors ‘will even think about’ working with Pistorius again.
But he said Pistorius may attract smaller brands – though that would require him giving back to the community and showing remorse.
It comes as Pistorius was released from prison today and taken to his new home on the estate of his uncle Arnold outside Pretoria – 11 years after he shot dead Steenkamp.
He was granted an early release from prison on November 24, 2023, after a parole board review determined the 37-year-old was fit for social reintegration, and set his release date for January 5 of this year.
Parole officers insisted he would be treated no differently from other inmates, but he was allowed a private exit, despite dozens of journalists on TV crews, waiting at the main gate.
Upon his release, images emerged of a previous jail cell showing the conditions in which the former Paralympian lived. His prosthetic legs are seen propped up in the corner of the small dingy cell, and family photos were plastered on the wall.
Meanwhile, Steenkamp’s mother June said in a statement she is the one ‘serving a life sentence’ in her grief, and wished that the release of the man who murdered her daughter would help bring her some peace.
Pistorius’s successful bid to run in the London 2012 Olympics (pictured) made him a huge star in America and a poster boy for Paralympians
Oscar Pistorius of South Africa celebrates after winning the final of the men’s 200 metre T44 classification event at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games in Beijing in 2008
A view of the prison cell of Oscar Pistorius inside the Kgosi Mampuru II prison, in Pretoria. Family photos are seen framed above his bed.
Prosthetic legs sit inside the prison cell inside the Kgosi Mampuru II prison in Pretoria
British-born June Steenkamp (seen left in 2014 consoling her husband Barry) told Mail Online how Pistorius, 37, not only took Reeva from her but how she also blames the runner for her husband’s later death – and believes he killed her dream of having grandchildren
Reeva Steenkamp is pictured in 2012 one year before her murder
June Steenkamp believes Pistorius is continuing to lie over the slaying of Reeva, but wants to step back out of the spotlight to mourn her daughter and husband Barry who died last September ‘from a broken heart’.
Reeva died after Pistorius shot her four times through the bathroom door of their home on Valentine’s Day 2013.
He insisted it was an accident as he thought an intruder had broken into the house.
Pistorius, who was born without fibulas and had both legs amputated below the knees before his first birthday, was once seen as the embodiment of human triumph over adversity.
The Johannesburg-born athlete gained global fame in the early 2000s, when he won Paralympic gold in the 200 metres at the Games in Athens.
Pistorius then set his sights on running against able-bodied athletes at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but was barred from competing in the event by governing bodies.
The ban was eventually overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but Pistorius failed to qualify for the Olympics, coming within 0.70 seconds of the qualifying standard for the 400 metres in Beijing.
Undeterred, he swept that year’s Paralympics, taking home the 100, 200 and 400 metre gold medals, before launching a bid to qualify for 2012 Olympics in London.
Vehicles come and go at the entrance to the Correctional Services prison in Pretoria, South Africa, on Friday. Pistorius was released from the prison today
Police officers walk next to the entrance of the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre, where South African athlete Oscar Pistorius, convicted of killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013, has been released on parole on Friday
Press gather outside the home of Oscar Pistorius’ uncle in the upmarket suburb of Waterkloof, Pretoria, on Friday
Private security outside the home of Oscar Pistorius’ uncle in the upmarket suburb of Waterkloof, Pretoria, where the athlete will live following his release from prison on Friday
This time he was successful, reaching the 400m semi-finals and competing for South Africa in the 4x400m relay. He also won another three Paralympic medals that year.
But his glittering career was ruined on February 14, 2013 in a Valentine’s Day horror when he shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
In the week that Pistorius was charged with Steenkamp’s murder, Nike and Oakley dropped the sprinter. Nike pulled a 2007 internet ad starring Pistorius, in which he says: ‘I am the bullet in the chamber’.
A gun enthusiast, Pistorius told the trial he had believed Steenkamp was an intruder when he shot her several times with ammunition designed to inflict maximum damage to the human body.
He was initially jailed for five years in 2014 for culpable homicide by a high court. But the Supreme Court of Appeal in late 2015 found him guilty of the more serious charge of murder after an appeal by prosecutors.
He was jailed in 2016, initially for six years which was later increased to more than 13 after an appeal by prosecutors who argued the initial sentence was too lenient.
In 2022, Pistorius met Steenkamp’s father Barry during a process known as victim-offender dialogue – part of South Africa’s restorative justice programme that brings parties affected by a crime together in a bid to achieve closure.
Few details were made public about the meeting and Steenkamp’s father died in 2023.
Her mother June said in a statement before the parole hearing for Pistorius that she was not convinced he had been rehabilitated.
But she added that she had forgiven him ‘long ago as I knew most certainly that I would not be able to survive if I had to cling to my anger’.