Port Elizabeth - Oscar Pistorius must “live with his conscience”, Reeva Steenkamp’s father said on Saturday.
According to a report in the British Telegraph newspaper, Reeva’s distraught father, Barry Steenkamp, said: “It doesn’t matter how much money he has and how good his team of lawyers is, he must be able to live with his conscience if he allows his team of lawyers to lie on his behalf.
“He will have to live with his conscience. But if he speaks the truth, I can perhaps some day forgive him. If it does not happen as he tells it, he must suffer.”
The comments were made to Beeld, and reveal for the first time the Steenkamps’ fears about how the case against Oscar Pistorius is proceeding. Until now, the family had confined itself to demanding that Pistorius provide “answers” about their daughter’s death.
On Monday last week, June Steenkamp said: “All we want are answers – answers as to why this had to happen, why our beautiful daughter had to die like this.”
Now, however, it appears that the family’s opinions have hardened. It seems clear that those answers Pistorius gave in court last week are, to the Steenkamps, not enough.
Barry Steenkamp and his wife, June, spoke from their home in Port Elizabeth.
June Steenkamp wept as she told the paper how she had hoped one day to play with Reeva’s children.
“Now everything is taken away from her in such a violent way. It’s so violent. We just want to know the truth,” she said.
Reeva’s siblings, Adam and Simone, both live and work in the UK. Adam, a 36-year-old father of two, works at Cambridge University.
Both children have now returned home to support their parents. Adam gave the eulogy at his sister’s funeral in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday.
Sunday Tribune