Oscar Pistorius could become a Christian preacher after being released from prison today having spent almost nine years behind bars for murdering his girlfriend.
The ‘Blade Runner’ Olympian-turned killer was sent to prison for the fatal shooting of model and law graduate Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013. Having served at least half his sentence, he was approved for parole in November.
The 37-year-old – 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.
It is understood that his relatives are to hold a family summit to plan a life for him now he is out of prison, with him becoming a preacher touted as a possibility.
Pistorius spoke in court about how he would pray with Reeva when they were dating, while he is reported to have ran bible studies and prayer meetings in jail – even convincing a feared gang leader to join, reports say.
Oscar Pistorius (pictured in 2016) could become a Christian preacher after being released from prison today having spent almost nine years behind bars for murdering his girlfriend
Now, his deeply religious family will support him in any bid to study to become a Christian preacher, a suggestion that has been widely reported as on his mind.
During his years behind bars, Pistorius was involved in several controversies, from a brawl over a prison phone to reportedly playing football with a Czech mobster.
But detention services also said he ‘worked quite hard’ during his time in prison, revealing he led a Bible study group and helped other prisoners while locked up.
Henke Pistorius, the killer’s father, told The Times in 2018 that his son had ‘always been a child of God’ and was ‘making a difference to others’ within the prison walls.
‘I have no doubt that Oscar has changed the environment in the prison for the better, he is helping to mediate between people and is having a positive influence.
‘He can feel he is making a difference to others who really needed a difference to be made — to give their lives meaning, purpose and some hope,’ the father added.
‘As a result, things have also improved for him. It’s a wonderful story.
‘They are hardcore chaps, the problem people in the prison, but now they are all meeting to follow the Bible once or twice a week.’
During the trial in 2014, Pistorius also spoke of his own faith.
‘It’s definitely the thing that has got me through this past year,’ Pistorius told the court in 2014 as he took the witness stand. ‘My God’s my God of refuge.’
He said he struggled with his faith following the death of his mother – the central pillar of his life – when he was 15, ‘but I always knew the Lord was part of my life.’
He also spoke of Reeva’s faith at the time, saying she was ‘very strong Christian’.
‘She would pray for me at night, praying about everything, pray about my training. We’d pray before we eat,’ he said at the time.
Pistorius spoke in court about how he would pray with his girlfriend Reeva (seen together in 2012) when they were dating, while he is reported to have ran bible studies and prayer meetings in jail – even convincing a feared gang leader to join
It is understood that his relatives are to hold a family summit to plan a life for him now he is out of prison, with him becoming a preacher touted as a possibility. Pictured: The house where Pistorius is set to live for five years as he serves the rest of his sentence
The Atteridgeville Correctional Centre in Pretoria, which Pistorius was released from today. It is understood that he ran a Bible group inside the facility
Later, in 2018, The Weekend Argus quoted a source in the Department of Correctional Services who claimed Pistorius was a model prisoner who was ‘humble and caring’.
The source said: ‘The Oscar I’ve come to know in jail is kind-hearted and cares for his fellow inmates. He buys food for those who can’t afford it or those who are far away from their relatives. And he does this without asking for anything in return.
‘Oscar also doesn’t deny what he did and shows remorse every day without faking it or to manipulate people’s opinions.
‘This is the side he shows in jail and people should stop judging him’.
The source said that Pistorius keeps a low profile behind bars and did not enjoy any preferential treatment adding: ‘He likes his privacy and spends a lot of his time reading and visiting the prison library. He’s a real bookworm.’
There have been some suggestions the former athlete was given preferential treatment, however.
His sentence was served in two very different prisons, spending his first year behind bars in the notorious Kgosi Mampuru II maximum security prison, before he was moved to the ‘relaxed’ Atteridgeville facility, which he left today.
Kgosi Mampuru II is home to some of South Africa’s most dangerous criminals, with almost all of the roughly 8,000 inmates held there being part of one of several violent gangs that are said to rule the facility.
Because his fame and disability meant he might be targeted by gangsters, Pistorius was housed in the hospital wing of the prison, which staff described as ‘very secure’, ‘very clean’, and ‘nice and neat’.
Despite this, prison inspection officers Violet Ngobeni and Boitumelo Morake said they met the Blade Runner, describing how he was ‘angry’ at the conditions.
The officers told CNN that he began to open up to them over the course of their meetings, in which he would share his complaints.
‘He complained that he wanted a bath. They built a bath in his cell.
‘He also had a complaint about his bed. And they replaced his bed for him,’ said Murasiet Mentoor, the regional manager of the Judicial Inspectorate.
Pistorius also raised concerns that his food might be poisoned, and chose to buy processed foods, inspectors said.
Reports suggest the murderer was desperate to leave and feared returning when he was moved to a lower security prison.
After serving just a year of his sentence in the high-security jail, Pistorius was moved to Atteridgeville prison – said to be more suited to him due to his disability.
The ruling meant that the Paralympian was almost certainly the only convicted murderer in the facility, which then housed just 1,000 prisoners.
It was described as having a ‘relaxed, family atmosphere’. A relative of the Blade Runner said it was ‘the best place he could be as a prisoner’.
The prison gave Pistorius a piece of land to develop a vegetable garden.
His father told The Times: ‘Oscar, being an artist, didn’t just do square blocks of vegetables. He has designed a face – the hair is a certain type of veggies and the ears and mouths are something else. It’s quite incredible.’
Private security outside the home of Oscar Pistorius’ uncle in the upmarket suburb of Waterkloof, Pretoria, South Africa, Friday, January 5
Flowers arrive at Oscar Pistorius’s uncle’s house today after he was released from prison
The comments about Pistorius’s character came as his family pushed for his early release – efforts which involved Pistorius meeting Reeva Steenkamp’s father Brian.
The pair met in June last year, in what was said to have been a tense showdown.
It was as part of a process authorities said aims to ensure inmates ‘acknowledge the harm they have caused to their victims and the society at large’.
Mr Steenkamp said Pistorius broke down and ‘wailed like a child’ when he read out a heart-breaking letter from Reeva’s mother.
Ms Steenkamp’s father came away from the meeting dissatisfied and ’emotional’, the Steenkamp family’s lawyer said today.
‘It was traumatic for both Mr Pistorius and Barry, it was painful, really painful.’
Barry sadly passed away in September 2023 at the age of 80. June, his wife and Reeva’s mother, blames Pistorius, saying Barry died from a broken heart.
Pistorius will live under strict parole conditions until the remainder of his murder sentence expires in December 2029.
Steenkamp’s mother, June Steenkamp, said in a statement that she had accepted Pistorius’ parole, although the pain of her daughter’s death was ‘still raw and real.’ Steenkamp’s father, Barry Steenkamp, died last year.
‘Has there been justice for Reeva? Has Oscar served enough time? There can never be justice if your loved one is never coming back, and no amount of time served will bring Reeva back,’ June Steenkamp said.
‘We who remain behind are the ones serving a life sentence.’
‘With the release of Oscar Pistorius on parole, my only desire is that I will be allowed to live my last years in peace with my focus remaining on the Reeva Rebecca Steenkamp Foundation, to continue Reeva’s legacy.’
The Department of Corrections has emphasised that the champion Paralympic sprinter’s release – like every other offender on parole – does not mean that he has served his time.
Pistorius’ parole conditions include restrictions on when he’s allowed to leave his home, a ban on consuming alcohol, and orders that he must attend programs on anger management and on violence against women.
He must also perform community service.
Pistorius will also have to regularly meet with parole officials and will be subjected to unannounced visits by authorities.
He is not allowed to leave the Waterkloof district without permission and is banned from speaking to the media until the end of his sentence. He could be sent back to jail if he is in breach of any of his parole conditions.
South Africa does not use tags or bracelets on paroled offenders so Pistorius will not wear any monitoring device, Department of Corrections officials said.
South African Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius, right, and girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp arrive for an awards ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2012 (file photo). Pistorius shot and killed Steenkamp through a bathroom door on Valentines Day, 2013
But he will be constantly monitored by a department official and will have to inform the official of any major changes in his life, such as if he wants to get a job or move to another house.
Once wealthy, with sports cars, motorcycles and lucrative endorsements from brands like Nike, Pistorius was left ‘broke’ after his lengthy murder trial, his chief defense lawyer said in 2014.
He sold the house where he killed Steenkamp to pay some of his legal bills.
Pistorius has maintained that he shot 29-year-old Steenkamp by mistake. He testified that he believed Steenkamp was a dangerous intruder and shot four times through the door with his licensed 9 mm pistol in self-defense.
Prosecutors said he killed his girlfriend intentionally during a late-night argument.
Steenkamp’s family did not oppose his parole application in November, although June Steenkamp said then that she didn’t believe Pistorius had been fully rehabilitated and was still lying about the shooting.
Before the killing, Pistorius was seen as an inspiring role model after having had both of his legs amputated below the knee as a baby because of a congenital condition.
He became a champion sprinter on his carbon-fiber running blades and made history by competing at the 2012 London Olympics.
His murder trial destroyed his image. He was accused of being prone to angry outbursts and acting recklessly with guns, while witnesses testified about altercations he had with others, including an argument in which he allegedly threatened to break a man’s legs.
Pistorius was first convicted of culpable homicide – a charge comparable to manslaughter – and sentenced to five years in prison for killing Steenkamp.
After appeals by prosecutors, he was ultimately found guilty of murder and had his sentence increased, although that judgment by the Supreme Court of Appeal still didn’t definitively rule that he knew it was Steenkamp behind the bathroom door.
Pistorius was first sent to prison in 2014, was released on house arrest in 2015 during an appeal, and then sent back to prison in 2016.
The gun-fanatic (pictured) has been allowed out on parole until 2029 but must adhere to a number of conditions set down by Atteridgeville Correction Services officials
Barry Steenkamp, father of Reeva Steenkamp, is consoled by his wife June Steenkamp during the sentencing hearing of Olympic and Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria October 15, 2014
Reaction to Pistorius’ parole has been muted in South Africa, in stark contrast to the first days and months after Steenkamp’s killing.
The event sparked angry protests outside of Pistorius’ court hearings calling for him to receive a long prison sentence. There is no death penalty in South Africa.
‘He has ticked all the necessary boxes,’ said Themba Masango, secretary general of Not In My Name International, a group that campaigns against violence against women.
‘And we can only wish and hope Oscar Pistorius will come out a better human being. We tend to forget that there is a possibility where somebody can be rehabilitated.’