Oscar's brother 'shattered' by extended sentence

Oscar Pistorius’s brother Carl says he is “shattered‚ heartbroken‚ gutted” by the Supreme Court of Appeal’s ruling that has increased the Paralympic athlete’s six-year jail term for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp to 13 years and 5 months.

Carl took to Twitter on Friday after the SCA handed down its judgment on the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA)’s application for appeal against his brother’s sentence.

A social media user responded saying‚ "The same feelings that Reeva's family are feeling I'm pretty sure‚" to which Carl said: "We have all suffered incomprehensible loss. The death of Reeva was and still is a great loss for our family too."

Pistorius shot his girlfriend dead in the early hours of Valentine's Day in 2013‚ when he fired four times through the door of his toilet - an act‚ he says‚ that came from mistaking her for a burglar.

Pistorius was originally convicted of culpable homicide in the Pretoria High Court in 2014‚ but the SCA upgraded his conviction to murder in 2015. In July last year‚ the High Court sentenced him to six years’ imprisonment for the murder of Steenkamp. Unhappy with the trial court’s sentence of six years‚ the National Prosecuting Authority took the matter back to the SCA on appeal‚ asking it to give Pistorius a longer sentence.

NPA spokesperson Luvuyo Mfaku said the SCA judgment served as a victory for the rule of law.

“As we have said‚ this is not about an individual‚ but about proper administration of justice. That sentence was shockingly low.”

Mfaku said if Pistorius’s sentence had remained the same‚ it would have set a bad precedent.

"This judgment shows that we pursue an individual irrespective of their social standing. We hope that Reeva’s family will finally find some closure‚ even though this will not bring their daughter back.”

Pistorius‚ who turned 31 behind bars this week‚ could potentially be out of jail for his 40th birthday if granted parole. However‚ Singabakho Nxumalo‚ spokesperson for Correctional Services‚ said the process was not easy.

He said in considering when Pistorius is eligible for parole‚ the department would look at when he started serving the sentence. “We will have to look at court papers and once he has served the minimum of the total sentence‚ he will then be considered for parole.”