Race Issue In Shadows During Pistorius Case - Sky News
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The issue of race may seem irrelevant in the athlete's high-profile trial but it will undoubtedly become a factor.
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Even today, 20 years after the end of apartheid, the issue of race is still a dominant part of life in South Africa and it will soon rear its head in the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius.
At first glance, racial politics might seem irrelevant in the trial of a white athlete accused of intentionally killing his white girlfriend, but it will certainly come into play - albeit in the shadows - when Pistorius begins his defence.
He claims he killed Reeva Steenkamp by mistake, convinced he was shooting through his locked toilet door at an intruder he thought was going to attack them.
The award-winning South African crime writer, Margie Orford, says this defence relies on the idea of a 'third body' in the case.
She calls this 'the imagined figure of a threatening black stranger that has driven many South Africans into fortress-like housing estates'.
Ms Orford's analysis of the case paints a picture of a nation where some middle class whites, armed with their guns and panic buttons, have failed to move on from what she calls the 'pernicious' apartheid narrative of 'swart gevaar' (the black peril), as justification for extreme violence.
She says it recalls the old macho attitude of 'it's either us or them'.
The eloquent simplicity of the author's point exposes all the lingering complexities of race in modern South Africa.
Mr Pistorius' lawyers are unlikely to mention the colour of the imagined intruder, but there will be few in the courtroom or beyond who will believe that he was thinking of someone white.
There is also little doubt he shot to kill when he fired four shots at close range through a locked toilet door.
The defence will argue that Pistorius' actions were rational and justified; the intruder may have been imaginary, but his terror was real.
The fact he lived on a highly secure estate with no record of any home invasions will likely be glossed over in favour of national statistics showing the high rates of violent crime.
Of course, the prosecution will argue that there was not even an imaginary intruder - whatever the colour - just a man intent on killing his girlfriend after a jealous row.
Their narrative will follow another grim theme of life in South Africa - the staggering level of violence against women.
Figures from the Medical Research Council show one woman dies at the hands of her partner in the country every eight hours.
:: Sky News' live coverage of the trial is under way, and a special highlights programme will be broadcast every weekday at 9.30pm.
:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.
Pistorius Trial: Evidence Summary
A summary of the evidence heard in the first two days of the Oscar Pistorius murder trial.
Day Three
Mr Johnson's evidence continued, and he was repeatedly challenged by Mr Roux who at one point said: 'You are saying all the evidence that your wife gave us yesterday.'
Mr Johnson replied that it was not unusual for two people to use the same words when describing an incident.
He mentioned some notes that he'd taken after the shooting, which are on his laptop and iPad. He was asked to end his evidence for the day and come back the next day, so the defence team had the opportunity to view his notes.
Oscar Pistorius' friend Kevin Lerena was then called, who described an incident in January last year in which Pistorius allegedly discharged a firearm by mistake while eating with friends in a restaurant.
He said the athlete then asked his friend Darren Fresco to take the blame.
The owner of the restaurant, Jason Loupis, and his wife Maria, later confirmed the incident after taking the stand.
Mrs Loupis said there was a child nearby when Pistorius' gun went off in the restaurant.
Day Two
The evidence of Ms Burger continued.
Defence lawyer Barry Roux said her evidence had been influenced by media coverage of the shooting, but she denied this.
Mr Roux said that evidence later in the trial would show that Ms Steenkamp would not have been able to scream after the final shot hit her in the head.
Ms Burger stood by her initial statement that she heard Ms Steenkamp after the final shot.
Another neighbour then took the stand for a short time, before Ms Burger's husband Charl Peter Johnson gave his evidence.
He told how he thought Pistorius and Ms Steenkamp were being held up in their house and said he looked at additional security measures for his own home the next day.
He backed up his wife's evidence, saying he heard screams after the final shot.
Day One
The first witness, university lecturer Michelle Burger, took the stand.
She says she woke on the night of the killing to the sound of gunshots and a woman screaming.
She described hearing 'bloodcurdling screams' and four shots.
She is a key witness for the prosecution, as her evidence would appear to contradict Pistorius' claims that he thought he was shooting at an intruder.
The defence argued she is unreliable due to alleged discrepancies between her police statement and court testimony.
EnlargeOscar Pistorius: Sound Factor Crucial To Trial
The issue of sound - how far it can travel and whether noises late at night can be easily misinterpreted - is fast becoming a key factor in the Oscar Pistorius murder trial.
His defence team has already indicated it intends to call expert witnesses who will testify there is little chance the athlete's neighbours, who claim to have woken to the sound of screaming, shouting and gunshots, heard anything accurately at all.
Reeva Steenkamp was in a small toilet with the window closed when she was shot dead through the locked door by Pistorius, who claims to have mistaken her for an intruder in the early hours of Valentine's Day 2013.
The nearest neighbours, married couple Michelle Burger and Charl Peter Johnson, say they heard a woman's 'blood-curdling' screams that night shortly before, during and shortly after four gunshots.
It was damaging evidence for the defence, casting serious doubt on Pistorius' assertion he thought Ms Steenkamp was in bed when he opened fire.
The clear inference from the evidence is if she was screaming loud enough to wake the neighbours before the gunshots, then the athlete must have known where she was.
But defence advocate Barry Roux has been fierce in his cross-examination, repeatedly stating the couple were 177 metres away, that they must have heard Oscar's screams not Reeva's.
And, crucially for their case, he argued the sounds that neighbours believed were gunshots could not have been the result of bullets being fired at all.
The defence says Pistorius bashed his way through to the bathroom door with a cricket bat after realising he had shot her by mistake.
The bangs of the bat, Mr Roux insisted, not the shots of a gun, were what they heard.
Pistorius' legal team have had a year to put together his case and they will have spent time collating the evidence that might poke holes in the neighbours' compelling and emotional accounts.
There will have been audio tests - re-enactments to show the sounds and distances involved - which will likely show how sound travels and distorts.
The prosecution has opened its case by creating a vivid picture - through sounds overheard - of a murder not an accident.
There was an argument, Ms Steenkamp screaming and terrified, and then gunshots.
The defence know they have to convince the judge that what was heard that night could still fit with Oscar Pistorius' version of events.
:: Sky News' live coverage of the trial is under way, and a special highlights programme will be broadcast every weekday at 9.30pm.
:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.
EnlargeOscar Pistorius Trial: Case Background
Two very different versions of what happened in the moments before Oscar Pistorius' girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp died have already been heard in court.
The athlete stands trial on Monday accused of her murder in a case that will make South African history as the first to be broadcast live for millions around the world to follow.
He denies the charge, claiming he mistook Ms Steenkamp for a burglar when he shot her in the early hours of Valentine's Day, 2013.
The prosecution says Pistorius, 26, fired his gun four times into the door of a bathroom, knowing his girlfriend was inside after an argument.
It is alleged she locked herself in the room after fleeing down a seven-metre passage from the bedroom at the runner's luxury home in Pretoria.
According to details outlined at previous hearings, the prosecution argues Pistorius followed her with his 9mm pistol, first putting on his prosthetic legs.
It is claimed he shot his gun four times through the door, killing an 'unarmed and defenceless' woman, before the door was broken open from the outside.
The prosecution has rejected claims of mistaken identity - that Pistorius believed the person inside the bathroom was a burglar.
The defence, meanwhile, has alleged the defendant had 'no intention' of killing Ms Steenkamp and was bereft at her death.
According to this version of events, Pistorius heard a noise in the early hours and thought an intruder had come through a bathroom window and was hiding there.
Defence lawyers claim he felt vulnerable and shouted for the intruder to get out and for Ms Steenkamp to call police.
It was dark and Pistorius thought Ms Steenkamp was lying on her bed, not that she was in the bathroom, lawyers have argued.
They claim Pistorius hobbled to the bathroom on his stumps and fired his gun - a 9mm pistol he kept under his bed because he had received death threats.
After the shooting, they said, he returned to his bed and saw Ms Steenkamp was not there.
It is alleged he shouted for help, broke open a door with a cricket bat and found she was alive before carrying her downstairs.
Pistorius wanted to protect Ms Steenkamp, not kill her, his lawyers claim.
The court battle will pit the wits of two of South Africa's leading lawyers and is expected to hear from 100 witnesses.
Pistorius has hired Kenny Oldwage, famous for helping acquit the man accused of killing Nelson Mandela's great-granddaughter Zenani in a drink-driving car crash.
He has also hired Barry Roux, known in court for his scarlet ties.
The trial will be one of South Africa's biggest ever legal showdowns, with Pistorius' team going up against veteran prosecutor Gerrie Nel.
The judge will be Thokozile Matilda Masipa, a former crime reporter who became only the second black woman to be appointed to the high court in 1988.
The trial, which takes place in Pretoria, will have no jurors, since trial by jury was abolished in South Africa under apartheid in 1969.
Ms Steenkamp's mother, June, has indicated she will attend the trial.
However, her father, Barry, is expected to be at home, recovering from a near-fatal stroke, which his brother said happened while reading a newspaper report about the trial.
Cameras will be able to 'obtain a video and audio recording of the permitted portions' of the trial.
However, they will not be able to film the Olympic champion, defence witnesses or anyone else who objects to being on camera.
The mandatory sentence for someone convicted of premeditated murder in South Africa is life with a minimum of 25 years in prison.
:: Sky News will have live coverage of the trial from Monday, with a special highlights programme at 9.30pm.
:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.
Enlarge
Pistorius Trial: Evidence Summary
A summary of the evidence heard in the first two days of the Oscar Pistorius murder trial.
Day Three
Mr Johnson's evidence continued, and he was repeatedly challenged by Mr Roux who at one point said: 'You are saying all the evidence that your wife gave us yesterday.'
Mr Johnson replied that it was not unusual for two people to use the same words when describing an incident.
He mentioned some notes that he'd taken after the shooting, which are on his laptop and iPad. He was asked to end his evidence for the day and come back the next day, so the defence team had the opportunity to view his notes.
Oscar Pistorius' friend Kevin Lerena was then called, who described an incident in January last year in which Pistorius allegedly discharged a firearm by mistake while eating with friends in a restaurant.
He said the athlete then asked his friend Darren Fresco to take the blame.
The owner of the restaurant, Jason Loupis, and his wife Maria, later confirmed the incident after taking the stand.
Mrs Loupis said there was a child nearby when Pistorius' gun went off in the restaurant.
Day Two
The evidence of Ms Burger continued.
Defence lawyer Barry Roux said her evidence had been influenced by media coverage of the shooting, but she denied this.
Mr Roux said that evidence later in the trial would show that Ms Steenkamp would not have been able to scream after the final shot hit her in the head.
Ms Burger stood by her initial statement that she heard Ms Steenkamp after the final shot.
Another neighbour then took the stand for a short time, before Ms Burger's husband Charl Peter Johnson gave his evidence.
He told how he thought Pistorius and Ms Steenkamp were being held up in their house and said he looked at additional security measures for his own home the next day.
He backed up his wife's evidence, saying he heard screams after the final shot.
Day One
The first witness, university lecturer Michelle Burger, took the stand.
She says she woke on the night of the killing to the sound of gunshots and a woman screaming.
She described hearing 'bloodcurdling screams' and four shots.
She is a key witness for the prosecution, as her evidence would appear to contradict Pistorius' claims that he thought he was shooting at an intruder.
The defence argued she is unreliable due to alleged discrepancies between her police statement and court testimony.
Oscar Pistorius: Sound Factor Crucial To Trial
The issue of sound - how far it can travel and whether noises late at night can be easily misinterpreted - is fast becoming a key factor in the Oscar Pistorius murder trial.
His defence team has already indicated it intends to call expert witnesses who will testify there is little chance the athlete's neighbours, who claim to have woken to the sound of screaming, shouting and gunshots, heard anything accurately at all.
Reeva Steenkamp was in a small toilet with the window closed when she was shot dead through the locked door by Pistorius, who claims to have mistaken her for an intruder in the early hours of Valentine's Day 2013.
The nearest neighbours, married couple Michelle Burger and Charl Peter Johnson, say they heard a woman's 'blood-curdling' screams that night shortly before, during and shortly after four gunshots.
It was damaging evidence for the defence, casting serious doubt on Pistorius' assertion he thought Ms Steenkamp was in bed when he opened fire.
The clear inference from the evidence is if she was screaming loud enough to wake the neighbours before the gunshots, then the athlete must have known where she was.
But defence advocate Barry Roux has been fierce in his cross-examination, repeatedly stating the couple were 177 metres away, that they must have heard Oscar's screams not Reeva's.
And, crucially for their case, he argued the sounds that neighbours believed were gunshots could not have been the result of bullets being fired at all.
The defence says Pistorius bashed his way through to the bathroom door with a cricket bat after realising he had shot her by mistake.
The bangs of the bat, Mr Roux insisted, not the shots of a gun, were what they heard.
Pistorius' legal team have had a year to put together his case and they will have spent time collating the evidence that might poke holes in the neighbours' compelling and emotional accounts.
There will have been audio tests - re-enactments to show the sounds and distances involved - which will likely show how sound travels and distorts.
The prosecution has opened its case by creating a vivid picture - through sounds overheard - of a murder not an accident.
There was an argument, Ms Steenkamp screaming and terrified, and then gunshots.
The defence know they have to convince the judge that what was heard that night could still fit with Oscar Pistorius' version of events.
:: Sky News' live coverage of the trial is under way, and a special highlights programme will be broadcast every weekday at 9.30pm.
:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.
Oscar Pistorius Trial: Case Background
Two very different versions of what happened in the moments before Oscar Pistorius' girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp died have already been heard in court.
The athlete stands trial on Monday accused of her murder in a case that will make South African history as the first to be broadcast live for millions around the world to follow.
He denies the charge, claiming he mistook Ms Steenkamp for a burglar when he shot her in the early hours of Valentine's Day, 2013.
The prosecution says Pistorius, 26, fired his gun four times into the door of a bathroom, knowing his girlfriend was inside after an argument.
It is alleged she locked herself in the room after fleeing down a seven-metre passage from the bedroom at the runner's luxury home in Pretoria.
According to details outlined at previous hearings, the prosecution argues Pistorius followed her with his 9mm pistol, first putting on his prosthetic legs.
It is claimed he shot his gun four times through the door, killing an 'unarmed and defenceless' woman, before the door was broken open from the outside.
The prosecution has rejected claims of mistaken identity - that Pistorius believed the person inside the bathroom was a burglar.
The defence, meanwhile, has alleged the defendant had 'no intention' of killing Ms Steenkamp and was bereft at her death.
According to this version of events, Pistorius heard a noise in the early hours and thought an intruder had come through a bathroom window and was hiding there.
Defence lawyers claim he felt vulnerable and shouted for the intruder to get out and for Ms Steenkamp to call police.
It was dark and Pistorius thought Ms Steenkamp was lying on her bed, not that she was in the bathroom, lawyers have argued.
They claim Pistorius hobbled to the bathroom on his stumps and fired his gun - a 9mm pistol he kept under his bed because he had received death threats.
After the shooting, they said, he returned to his bed and saw Ms Steenkamp was not there.
It is alleged he shouted for help, broke open a door with a cricket bat and found she was alive before carrying her downstairs.
Pistorius wanted to protect Ms Steenkamp, not kill her, his lawyers claim.
The court battle will pit the wits of two of South Africa's leading lawyers and is expected to hear from 100 witnesses.
Pistorius has hired Kenny Oldwage, famous for helping acquit the man accused of killing Nelson Mandela's great-granddaughter Zenani in a drink-driving car crash.
He has also hired Barry Roux, known in court for his scarlet ties.
The trial will be one of South Africa's biggest ever legal showdowns, with Pistorius' team going up against veteran prosecutor Gerrie Nel.
The judge will be Thokozile Matilda Masipa, a former crime reporter who became only the second black woman to be appointed to the high court in 1988.
The trial, which takes place in Pretoria, will have no jurors, since trial by jury was abolished in South Africa under apartheid in 1969.
Ms Steenkamp's mother, June, has indicated she will attend the trial.
However, her father, Barry, is expected to be at home, recovering from a near-fatal stroke, which his brother said happened while reading a newspaper report about the trial.
Cameras will be able to 'obtain a video and audio recording of the permitted portions' of the trial.
However, they will not be able to film the Olympic champion, defence witnesses or anyone else who objects to being on camera.
The mandatory sentence for someone convicted of premeditated murder in South Africa is life with a minimum of 25 years in prison.
:: Sky News will have live coverage of the trial from Monday, with a special highlights programme at 9.30pm.
:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.
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