South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority has issued a warrant of arrest for Oscar Pistorius, a day after the Paralympic champion was convicted on appeal of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, ENCA television reported on Friday.
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All this would happen ahead of the court’s sentencing proceedings, Mfaku said.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court of Appeal overturned a lower court’s manslaughter conviction.
She must now give Pistorius a new sentence, likely to be in the new year. Two, the accused’s conviction and sentence on count one are set aside and replaced with the following: guilty of murder with the accused having had criminal intent in the form of dolus eventualis.
Pistorius left jail on parole in October and was due to spend the rest of his sentence under house arrest.
NPA spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku was quoted as saying: “We are trying to arrange with the Pretoria High Court that he can appear before court, where the matter will be formally postponed for sentencing”.
The Pistorius family has said its legal team will advise it on legal options following the murder conviction of Pistorius, who shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp to death in 2013. The appeals court didn’t interfere with that finding.
Pistorius could yet appeal to the Constitutional Court of South Africa if he feels his right to a fair trial has been undermined. Prosecutors said he killed her after an argument; Pistorius said he killed her by mistake, thinking there was an intruder in the house.
The court rejected the defense contention that Pistorius felt extremely tense and anxious because he was not wearing his prosthetic legs and couldn’t flee the threat he believed emanated from the bathroom.
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South Africa says no arrest warrant has been issued for Oscar Pistorius.
