[imagesource: Chris Eason / Flickr]

The long-running Oscar Pistorius ‘will he or won’t he get parole’ saga has taken another twist.

Sorry, Oscar, but you can kiss Christmas at home goodbye.

Last week, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) withdrew two orders it had issued about when the disgraced former athlete and current murderer’s sentence actually started.

That came just one day before Pistorius was due to fight for a parole hearing in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, reports News24:

…the SCA’s chief registrar Elizabeth Vermeulen confirmed that the court’s first ruling on his sentence stood.

This means that Pistorius will only become eligible for parole in March 2023…

The SCA had twice “corrected” the 13-year-and-five-month sentence it imposed on Pistorius for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp…

I guess that means more time for him to work on his tractor-driving skills and get stuck into a few books.

Pistorius and Julian Knight, a lawyer acting on his behalf, have argued that he has served half of the sentence imposed but prison authorities have pushed back.

They’ve maintained that their calculations show Pistorius would only have served half of his sentence in March of next year, and the SCA appears to agree.

Knight called the SCA’s decision “deeply unfortunate” and added it “has profound implications for the rights of everyone involved in this parole process”.

On the other side of the equation, Tania Koen, who represents Barry and June Steenkamp, said the family was “pleased that all the uncertainty has now been clarified”.

Given that the Steenkamps have repeatedly clashed with Pistorius and his legal team regarding parole, I bet they are.

[source:news24]