Pretoria - It is still uncertain when Oscar Pistorius will be released from the Kgosi Mampuru II Prison in Pretoria, as the Parole Review Board on Monday set aside the decision to grant him parole and referred the matter back to the Correctional Services Parole Board.
As the review board, which sat in Johannesburg on Monday, passed the buck to the parole board, it could be days or weeks before Pistorius will know when he will be released.
His lawyer, Brian Webber, told Independent Online that he unofficially received word that the matter was being referred back to the parole board. Webber said the legal team will be considering their legal options in this regard.
Pistorius was due to be released on correctional supervision August 21 this year, after he had served 10 months of his five-year jail term for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day two years ago. The high court in Pretoria last year convicted him of culpable homicide.
Justice Minister Michael Masutha, on the eve of Pistorius’ release in August, referred the matter back to the review board for reconsideration. He objected to the fact that the parole board decided to announce the date for Pistorius’ release in June – months before he had served his 10 months in jail.
The review board met two weeks ago in Durban to re-consider the parole of a number of inmates, but as they could not complete their roll, Pistorius’ matter, among others, stood down to Monday.
Pretoria lawyer Julian Knight said there is no reason why the parole board could not come to a speedy decision, as it sat on a daily basis in Pretoria to consider the parole of inmates. “They can decide within a few days and certainly before the end of this week,” Knight said.
Pretoria News