The Blade Runner was due to leave prison in August and serve the remainder of his sentence under correctional supervision at his uncle Arnold’s plush Waterkloof mansion, but the decision was suspended at the 11th hour.
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The minister is one of the first expected to hear when Pistorius will be released on parole, as he was the one who referred the matter back to the review board.
But two days before that, Justice Minister Michael Masutha announced Pistorius would not be released, saying the parole board had acted prematurely when it decided in June that he could be released in August.
The 28-year-old was convicted of culpable homicide in the shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.
The Department of Correctional Services said Saturday that its parole review board met on Friday to consider a number of cases but didn’t complete them.
The double-amputee Olympian was initially approved to be released and moved to house arrest last month.
Even if he is released early from jail, the former star athlete’s court battles are not over. “I’m not a bookkeeper”.
The parole review board has no set time limit to make its decision, said lawyer Joey Moses, author of the book Parole in South Africa.
Meanwhile, his defense team has asked the South Africa Court of Appeals to throw out the prosecution’s request for an appeal, citing the country’s law on double jeopardy – that Pistorius is being tried twice for the same crime without the introduction of new evidence, The Week reported.
Pistorius’ case was among those that must still be reviewed.
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Should Pistorius be found guilty of murder, he would serve a minimum of 15 years in prison, ruling out a return to the professional world of athletics where he was once revered as a role model.
