NATIONAL NEWS - Convicted murderer and Paralympian Oscar Pistorius was temporarily released to attend his grandfather’s memorial in Centurion on Tuesday morning.
Gauteng department of correctional services spokesperson Mocheta Monama confirmed that the Paralympian, serving 13 years for the murder of Reeva Steenkamp, was freed for a “couple of hours” to attend the send-off.
Pistorius’ grandfather Hendrik Pistorius died in October from ill health and reports surfaced that Pistorius was not taking the news well.
Monama said Pistorius’ application to attend the funeral was approved based on several factors.
“We look at anything that could compromise security, including whether a person is a flight risk or whether he might be a danger to members of the public,” he said.
“In this case we did not see any security risk in letting him attend.”
Monama said the application was approved late on Monday.
Pistorius attended the service then was taken back to the Kgosi Mampuru correctional centre.
