Pistorius five-year jail term leaves South Africa divided

Oscar Pistorius reacts as he was handed a five-year prison term for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp yesterday. PHOTO BY AGENCIES

Pretoria. Outside the Pretoria High Court where Oscar Pistorius was to be sentenced, casually dressed locals and passers-by were keen to give their views on the case. “I think he might get five years,” said one woman, while another pondered if he deserved a second chance.
Pistorius, 27, was jailed for five years yesterday for killing his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
For many the case has been personal and a chance to validate their own views on gun use, gender-based violence, and crime.
Forensic criminologist Jackie de Wet said the trial had formed a type of unscripted reality show, unlike any other. “This trial forced this whole thing into the public consciousness and people got wrapped up in it,” he said.
For Pistorius, the damage to his reputation, the exposure of his private life, and flat line of his career may be hard to recover from.
“He’s still a celebrity but what is he contributing [to society] now; what is the good we can take out of the Oscar story?” asked de Wet. He said once the hype had dissipated, ordinary South Africans would likely ask the same question, and lose interest.
It seems unlikely that Pistorius will return to a professional sporting career. Pistorius had always been a strong advocate for disabled people and was not afraid to stir controversy with his assertion that he should be allowed to race against able-bodied athletes.
His career was largely built on his attitude that a disability did not have to be a disadvantage.
The issue of who Pistorius had intended to kill has been a subject of debate in South Africa since the crime was first committed, as in the former apartheid state socio-economic status is still divided largely along racial lines.
Members of the public questioned whether the loss of a life of a black man would have been weighted in the same way as the loss of the life of a white woman had.