PRETORIA: South Afri­can former Paralym­pic star Oscar Pistorius was released on parole on Friday, nearly 11 years after murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in a crime that shocked a nation inured to violence against women.

Pistorius, dubbed Blade Runner for his carbon-fibre prosthetic legs, shot 29-year-old model Steenkamp dead through a locked bathroom door on Valentine’s Day in 2013.

He has repeatedly said he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder when he fired four shots into the bathroom at his Pretoria home, and he launched multiple appeals against his conviction on that basis.

In a statement shared by the Steenkamp family lawyer on Friday, Reeva’s mother June said: “There can never be justice if your loved one is never coming back, and no amount of time served will bring Reeva back.

“We, who remain behind, are the ones serving a life sentence.”

June Steenkamp said her only desire was to be allowed to live in peace after Pistorius’s release on parole.

Pistorius, now 37, spent over eight years in jail as well as seven months under home arrest before he was sentenced for murder.

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2024