Standard entry onto this year’s course costs more than £4,000 – or more than 9,000 South African Rand – slightly less than the cost of Pistorius’ bail fee agreed in court on Tuesday morning.
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With Pistorius not deemed a flight risk, bail has been set at 10,000 rand (£450).
“Defense lawyer Roux also said Pistorius plans to appeal his conviction to the country’s Constitutional Court”.
“He’s supposed to get 15 years in jail; he deserves it”, said Thomas Mdlule, a 30-year-old selling newspapers on a corner close to the court.
Pistorius with Reeva Steenkamp, who died on Valentine’s Day 2013.
In September, Roux told the court that Pistorius could not afford a new trial.
The double-amputee Paralympian sprinter, known as the “Blade Runner” because of the prosthetic legs he uses on the track, now faces a minimum 15-year jail sentence for murder, although the term could be shorter if he is released on parole.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel said that while the state accepted his right to appeal, there was no basis for a successful legal challenge.
The judge added that Pistorius did “not take that many basic precaution of firing a warning shot”. Sitting in court, I was left with an impression that the judge was not interested in imposing strict conditions.
His initial sentence for the manslaughter earned him a 5-year sentence, of which he has already served one year, although it is likely his sentence will be increased following the murder conviction.
Pistorius shot Steenkamp in February 2013 through a door in his home, believing, he said in court, she was an intruder.
Pistorius will only be allowed to travel within a radius of 20km around his uncle’s Waterkloof home, where he was previously serving under correctional supervision for his original sentence of culpable homicide.
The Supreme Court of Appeal said the trial judge, Thokozile Masipa, delivered a confused judgment, misapplied the law in key areas and ignored important police ballistics evidence.
Members of the public also started to gather outside the gates eager to see what all the commotion was about.
In his bail affidavit, Pistorius highlighted his good behaviour and said he was seeking new employment, as he has lost all of his “assets” and has no income.
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The court will reconvene April 18 to report on the progress of Pistorius’ appeal. He is allowed to leave the house between 7am and midday every day, but he must be electronically tagged.
