Posted by Blogger Name. Category:
Judge Thokozile Makipa
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Making a difference
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Oscar Pistorius
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Reeva Steenkamp
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South Africa
Oscar Pistorius is in trouble again. You'd think he would be keeping a low profile whilst on trial for murder, but apparently not, as the Herald reports:
Oscar Pistorius, who has three weeks before defence and prosecution lawyers give their final arguments in his murder trial, has been involved in an altercation in a nightclub.
The double-amputee athlete had visited a nightspot called VIP in Sandton, Johannesburg, on Saturday night when he was approached by a man reportedly called Jared Mortimer, Pistorius' spokesperson confirmed.
"We can confirm that Oscar was at a night club with one of his cousins. They sat in a quiet area of the private VIP section when they were approached by the individual you have identified as Mortimer," Anneliese Burgess told The Juice.
"The individual in question, according to our client, started to aggressively engage him on matters relating to the trial.
"An argument ensued during which our client asked to be left alone. Oscar left soon thereafter with his cousin. Our client regrets the decision to go into a public place and thereby inviting unwelcome attention," she concluded.
This sequence of events is refuted by Mortimer, who says that a friend of his also present in the VIP section of the club, in fact introduced him to Pistorius, who he claims was "drunk" and "very aggressive."
The 27-year-old Paralympian is currently on trial for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, who he claims he shot after believing her to be an intruder.
The trial has been adjourned until 8 August when closing statements and arguments will take place, before the judge, Thokozile Masipa, considers her verdict.
Mortimer said of Saturday night: "Oscar knew one of my friends and said, 'Oh, you are the infamous Jared Mortimer.' He immediately started talking about his friends and how they had backstabbed him.
"He then mentioned one of my friends and claimed he had a lot of dirt on that person."
Things at this point turned slightly for the worse, Mr Mortimer claims, with Pistorius "going on about how influential his family is and how connected they are.
"He even pulled out his phone to show me pictures of armoured cars. He said 'My family owns SANDF. Zuma works for us. I'll piss on Zuma'."
Pistorius then poked him on the chest, Jared claims, pulling his neck to talk to him.
"He said 'you'll never get the better of me. I'll always get the better of you'," Mortimer alleges, before he then pushed Pistorius, who fell. Bouncers then arrived to neutralise the situation and Oscar left the club, he said.
Quite what Pistorius thinks he's doing going out on the large whilst on trial for murder is anyone's guess. It certainly presents a strong contrast to the grief-stricken victim he has portrayed for months in the courtroom.
And allegedly slagging off the South African government is probably not a good move either, given it is highly likely Pistorius is going to be a guest of said South African government if he is found guilty of murdering Reeva Steenkamp, or even of lesser charges.
But that apart, we couldn't help be see the irony in the last part of the Herald's story:
Pistorius then broke a five-month Twitter silence on Sunday and Monday, sending out four Tweets one of which was a collage of the athlete with young amputees with the message: "You have the ability to make a difference in someone's life."
Oscar Pistorius certainly made a difference in Reeva Steemkamp's life in February 2013; a significant difference, with fatal consequences.
We reckon Pistorius would be well advised to give both nightclubs and social media a very wide berth, at least until Judge Thokozile Makipa hands down her verdict. It's not going to help his case one iota.
