[imagesource:flickr]

Having served his time for killing his model girlfriend inside their home in 2013, Oscar Pistorius is back out in the world.

Since he was released from prison in January, the double-amputee Olympian has been holed up at his uncle’s luxurious three-story mansion in Pretoria, sweeping church floors after being shunned by his former peers.

In a New York Post exclusive, it was reported that Oscar reached out to at least two members of the International Paralympic Committee after his release, asking if they could work together in any capacity.

He was quickly rejected, with one member telling The Post “He’s too toxic to work with now,” adding “There’s nothing for him here”.

Eish, ja. Nobody wants to work with a killer.

Image: Flickr

The 37-year-old athlete became a national hero in 2012 when he became the first double amputee to run in the Olympics. Six months later, he shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp multiple times through a bathroom door in his house, claiming he mistook her as a burglar. His fall from grace culminated in being sentenced in 2014 by a high court to five years in jail for culpable homicide. After prosecutors appealed, authorities more than doubled his sentence to 13 years and five months.

He ended up serving more than half of that sentence before being released in January.

Now, it seems his uncle, Arnold, is the only person who is willing to take him in. Oscar has been staying in his uncle’s fortified compound in the exclusive Waterkloof suburb in Pretoria, complete with armed guards, electronic defences and reportedly several ‘attack dogs’. The Post has pictures if you’re curious.

Under the terms of his parole, Oscar does not need to wear an electronic monitor, but a parole officer will check on him at random hours of the day or night, according to the Department of Corrections.

The conditions of his release are also that he is subject to alcohol and drug testing, he can have no contact with Reeva Steenkamp’s family, he is not allowed to post on social media or give interviews, and he cannot write a memoir about his experiences and capitalise on the horror he inflicted.

According to his parole paperwork, Pistorius has listed his volunteer work at NG Kerk Waterkloof, the Dutch Reformed Church attended by his uncle.

There, he quietly attends service and occasionally does light maintenance and janitorial work.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

The Steenkamp family had opposed Oscar’s release, but Reeva’s mother June Steenkamp told the ITV morning show that she accepted the parole board’s decision once it was made:

“He had to come out, it’s inevitable,” she told the show. “He’s on parole now. It’s not going to make any difference to my life.”

“He’s done what he’s done already and I can’t do anything about that” she continued. “I’ve lost the most beautiful, wonderful child. And now I’ve been without her for so many years, I miss her every day.”

An NG Kerk Waterkloof member tells The Post that Oscar is not the same.

“He’s not friendly, not outgoing,” the parishoner says. “I don’t know if I’ve even seem him crack a smile. He’s just a shadow of what he once was.”

Aida Govender, who spotted him at the church last month while visiting with her relatives, says she did not recognise him at first, what with his long hair, beard and slim body.

“You would never know he was an athlete; he’s just not the same,” she said.

[source:nypost]