Oscar ‘threw tantrums’
Oscar Pistorius would bang on the official’s desk, demanding medication which was not prescribed, a Kgosi Mampuru health manager told the court on Tuesday.
Paralympian Oscar Pistorius threw tantrums in prison and demanded medication which his family smuggled into the prison.
This was the testimony of assistant health manager at the Kgosi Mampuru II prison, Mahlatsi Mashabane, in the High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday.
She was giving evidence for the State in proceedings preceding the sentencing of Pistorius for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.
Mashabane said the athlete lost his temper on three occasions since his incarceration in 2014.
He demanded medication that was not prescribed by the section’s doctors.
“He threw the prison medication on my desk and told me it was useless. He then banged the table with a notepad and demanded that he take his own medication. He was shaking in anger.”
The athlete was accommodated in the prison’s hospital wing, alongside former Czech fugitive and convicted drug dealer Rodavan Krejcir.
Mashabane was responsible for doing rounds to patients and ensuring the hospital wing ran smoothly.
She said she was alarmed by Pistorius’ conduct when he told her to get out of his cell after they tried to wake him on 1 March 2015.
“A guard and I went to his cell as usual, as we were doing our rounds. Pistorius shouted and told me I am disturbing him,” Mashabane said.
“He yelled at me and told me to get out but I had to explain that this was procedure. I eventually left with the guard.”
Mashabane: I was surprised by his behaviour because before that he was a kind person. #OscarPistorius
— Pretoria Rekord (@RekordNewspaper) June 14, 2016
In January 2015, Pistorius requested sports supplement and a pneumatic device unfamiliar to Mashabane and the section doctor.
“We wrote down a memorandum on his request for approval. The morning of the incident he came to my office and asked for feedback,” Mashabane said.
“I told him the device cannot be approved in two days. He then banged on the table with his notebook and said our team was useless.”
Roux argues that Nel told the court that #Pistorius banged table with fists. Mashabane confirms it was with a notepad
— Pretoria Rekord (@RekordNewspaper) June 14, 2016
Pistorius then asked to see his private doctor, whom Mashabane contacted and went to see after Pistorius completed his application.
“I drove to Steve Biko Academic Hospital myself, as she was stationed there at that moment and told her Pistorius would like to see her.”
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel interrupted Mashabane to ask if she knew the doctor was a recently-graduated cousin of Pistorius.
Informing Nel that she was not aware of this, Mashabane said the application was approved and the doctor came to see Pistorius.
In February last year, the athlete’s family went to the prison to bring him medication. Mashabane said the medication was smuggled to Pistorius without prior permission from the prison.
“The officer who dropped off the medication claimed the family had made arrangements with a prison nurse for the drop off.”
Asked if Pistorius was violent, Mashabane said: “Yes. I was sitting at my desk and he was banging on it while shaking in anger. It was threatening.”
Pistorius could serve a minimum of 15 years in prison after he was convicted of murder by the Supreme Court of Appeal last year.
The Paralympian had already served a year in prison for a culpable homicide conviction after he shot dead his model girlfriend.
Also read:
Oscar should pay for what he did, Steenkamp said
Day two: Pistorius sentencing resumes
Oscar ‘was assaulted in prison’
Oscar Pistorius sentencing underway
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