As convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius and his legal team prepare to approach the Constitutional Court to appeal his murder conviction, the blade runner will need to dig deeper into his pockets. He will be issued an electronic monitoring device.
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“I have lost all my assets and only possess my personal assets”, he said in his written bail application.
In South Africa, appeals must be based on questions around the interpretation of the law, rather than questions based on facts surrounding a case.
The athlete told the court he should remain at liberty because he has enrolled on a £4,200 law and business degree by correspondence at the University of London and needed “daily access to internet”.
Prosecution spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku, speaking outside court, said the April date would allow the Constitutional Court time to decide whether it would hear Pistorius’ appeal.
On Tuesday, Pistorius was granted bail of the equivalent of $692 in South African currency – he paid an amount 100 times higher when he first appeared in court for the shooting, though he was not placed under house arrest at that time.
“I am well known and it would be senseless to even consider to become a fugitive of justice”, he said in his affidavit.
Pistorius said he had completed an anger management course, had no history of violence and would not attempt to flee.
He argued that bail conditions should be stricter for murder than for a man convicted of culpable homicide (or reckless killing). He was to serve the rest of the culpable murder sentence under house arrest. “We feel strongly that he should not leave the house at any time”.
“We’re not convinced that the accused has made out a good case and that his application to the Constitutional Court will be successful, but we acknowledge that he has the right to bring such an application”, said Nel.
On Tuesday, South African High Court Judge Aubrey Ledwaba said Pistorius could leave the house between 7 a.m. (0500 GMT)and noon and, with permission from the authorities, travel within a radius of 20km (12 miles).
Attorney Tyrone Maseko has a mixed view on Pistorius’s prospects.
The constitutional court weighs matters of constitutional law and general law considered to be of “general public importance”.
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. Barry Steenkamp, Reeva’s father, welcomed the murder conviction last week, saying “it was a fair decision”.
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He told his trial at Pretoria’s High Court that he thought his girlfriend was in bed and he was confronting an intruder; the state argued he killed her deliberately after an argument. The appeals court said Pistorius should be sentenced by the lower court.
