Reeva Steenkamp and Oscar Pistorius at an event.
It’s easy to see why many ordinary South Africans are so conflicted about convicted killer and former star athlete Oscar Pistorius being granted parole.
He had served the minimum part of a 13-year sentence for the murder of his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine’s Day in 2013.
Many refuse to believe his version that he shot Steenkamp in error, mistaking her for a burglar.
Reeva’s mother, June, noted that neighbours heard her daughter screaming on the night of the shooting, while Pistorius claimed she was in bed.
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Supporters of the legless athlete believe that he has shown remorse and has done his time and deserves to be freed.
They point to the fact that Schabir Shaik was freed on parole for questionable medical reasons after serving very little of his sentence for corruption involving former president Jacob Zuma.
Still others believe parole sends the wrong signal in a society torn to shreds by gender-based violence and where guns, both legal and illegal, are often the way angry men try to solve, or get rid of, their problems.
Reeva’s murder must not be in vain. She should stand as a symbol of all the abused women in our country as we say: no more.
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