[MTVN]

Originally Posted by lostalex

name a successful female south african sports star and i'll tell you if i've heard of her..

So now you're restricting it to South African females not just female sport stars in general?

There are a lot more global female sports stars than there are disabled ones

[lostalex]

Originally Posted by MTVN

So now you're restricting it to South African females not just female sport stars in general?

There are a lot more global female sports stars than there are disabled ones

what? yur confusing me now. obviously i'm not saying female sports stars in general. America has a ton of female sports stars. (serena williams, abby wambach, hope solo, lindsay vonn, danica patrick, gabby douglas and the rest of the fierce five gymnastics team) America has tons of female athletes.

I'm saying South Africa, because obviously South Africa doesn't even have many male sports starts, and i can't think of any south african female sports stars. are ther any? I was pointing out how he's their one superstar, and also south africa is very sexist.

Doesn't the president of South Africa own like 7 wives? that's ******ed up.

[Shasown]

Originally Posted by lostalex

what? yur confusing me now. obviously i'm not saying female sports stars in general. America has a ton of female sports stars. (serena williams, abby wambach, hope solo, lindsay vonn, danica patrick, gabby douglas and the rest of the fierce five gymnastics team) America has tons of female athletes.

I'm saying South Africa, because obviously South Africa doesn't even have many male sports starts, and i can't think of any south african female sports stars. are ther any? I was pointing out how he's their one superstar, and also south africa is very sexist.

Doesn't the president of South Africa own like 7 wives? that's ******ed up.

Well off topic now.

Please dont let any real facts get in the way of your ignorance.

Doesnt the president of the US only own one wife? What a poor poor fellow

[Brother Leon]

Originally Posted by lostalex

Can yu imagine if this was a major female sports star???

oh wait... #1 there are no major female sports stars and #2 women don't really abuse and murder men....

interesting...

Hmmm..... food for thought.

WTF is wrong with successful men?

The **** does that have to do with anything?

[Omah]

0908: Mr Nel has now finished his closing arguments. The court is taking a short break and then Mr Pistorius' lawyer, Barry Roux, will respond.

[lime]

I have to say as a South African one of the strangest things about this case is no mention of a panic button.

I have lived in secure complex's (not as nice as Oscar's )and there are always several panic buttons ,especially one beside the bed.

Oscar's lawyer has told magistrate that he thought there was an intruder and then went to the bed to get gun .I find it hard to believe there was no panic button beside the bed.

[Omah]

Originally Posted by lime

I have to say as a South African one of the strangest things about this case is no mention of a panic button.

I have lived in secure complex's (not as nice as Oscar's )and there are always several panic buttons ,especially one beside the bed.

Oscar's lawyer has told magistrate that he thought there was an intruder and then went to the bed to get gun .I find it hard to believe there was no panic button beside the bed.

That's a good point - perhaps by the time of the trial the police may have thought about it, too !

[Omah]

0941: The hearing has now resumed and defence lawyer Barry Roux is on his feet to present his arguments.

0949: Defence lawyer Barry Roux has been giving a legal masterclass about the difference between "dolus directis" and "dolus eventualis". In layman's terms, dolus directis is when you always intended an action - ie, the victim was the intended target - and dolus eventualis is when your action produces an unintended consequence - ie, the victim was not the intended target. Mr Roux is arguing that Mr Pistorius' case is the second category.

0959: Mr Roux has finished his arguments and the magistrate has told the courtroom that the bail decision will be delivered at 14:30 local time (12:30 GMT).

[Omah]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21543851

Andrew Harding

Africa correspondent

It's been the quiet, rather overlooked subtext to the drama and detail emerging from Courtroom C over the past few days: the shambolic state of South Africa's police force.

Exhibit A is, of course, Detective Hilton Botha, newly dismissed from his role as lead investigator in the Reeva Steenkamp murder case.

It was almost painful to watch his testimony to the court - selective, speculative, and clearly loyal to the prosecution - being picked apart by a highly paid defence lawyer until the detective was forced to concede that all his bold assumptions about Oscar Pistorius's guilt were, on the current evidence, unsustainable.

But between those uncomfortable admissions lay another story, of an underpaid policeman arriving for an important job without the necessary equipment - shoe covers - to avoid contaminating the murder scene, and without enough "connections" - his word - or colleagues, to ensure that the most basic evidence could be processed in time for the bail hearing.

He had no records yet of Reeva Steenkamp's mobile phone calls, no information about the post-mortem, no forensic or ballistic information beyond a few informal conversations with experts at the scene.

Other evidence about alleged "testosterone" proved wrong and the defence said its own investigators had found a bullet cartridge clumsily overlooked by the police.

Given that this is perhaps the most high-profile murder investigation that South Africa has seen in years, it makes you wonder what happens in other, more ordinary, cases.

It also makes you begin to understand why, for instance, the conviction rate for alleged rapists is pitifully low, and why so many police dockets are reported to "disappear" from the files, allowing suspects to walk free.

The suspiciously timed announcement that attempted murder charges have been reinstated against Detective Botha lends itself to speculation, both about the politicised power struggles within the state prosecutors' office, and about a national police force scrambling to save face under the glare of the international media.

But to me it also speaks to South Africa's notorious wealth gap, and to a culture where lavishly paid senior officials - be they politicians, police bureaucrats or defence attorneys - appear to live in a very different world from the underfunded, underequipped foot soldiers struggling to get a grip on this country's enduring crime problem.

[Omah]

1254: Magistrate Desmond Nair summarising the defence case (in detail)

1309: Magistrate Desmond Nair is now recapping the evidence of the original investigating officer, Warrant Officer Hilton Botha (in detail)

1328: Magistrate Desmond Nair has now moved on to discuss the history of bail in the Republic of South Africa (in detail)

He don't 'alf go on .....

Now he's banging on about how bloody paragraphs and schedules (sub-section small a) .....

1339: The court adjourns for five minutes.

You'd think this was a trial and he was the hanging judge .....

[Omah]

We apologise for the delay on the bail decision - the magistrate just loves hearing the sound of his own voice .....

[Omah]

We MAY get a decision soon, but then again it could be deferred until Monday if the magistrate hasn't completed his pontification .....

[MTVN]

He's been granted bail surprised considering the charge

[Omah]

1424: Magistrate Desmond Nair said in view of the "totality of the evidence" he concludes Mr Pistorius should be granted bail while he awaits trial for murder.

1442: Magistrate Desmond Nair has set bail conditions - Mr Pistorius must deposit 1m rand (Ł73,823) in cash and guarantees, he must hand over his passport, avoid his home in Pretoria and report to a police station between 07:00 and 13:00 every Monday and Friday.

1449: Mr Pistorius is next due in court on 4 June but his trial may not be for many months. Magistrate Desmond Nair also ordered him to give up all his firearms as a condition of bail.


IMO, there will be a public outcry in SA and he will be far from safe for some time to come.

[Omah]

1520: The AFP news agency reports that as part of the bail conditions, magistrate Desmond Nair also said Mr Pistorius "shall refrain from using any prohibited substance and or alcohol".

[MTVN]

Are you pleased he has got bail Omah?

[Munchkins]

Wow he's been granted bail

[Drew.]

pretty shocked he's been given bail

[Omah]

Originally Posted by MTVN

Are you pleased he has got bail Omah?

Certainly not .....

He's a violent, and now desperate man, with a career in ruins and, whatever the charge, a certain prison sentence for murder in the offing.

There's still more to this case than has so far met the eye, e.g. why did Pistorious go for his gun and not what should have been available - a panic button (to call the guards) .....

[Munchkins]

This case really is confusing me, why has he been given bail

[Omah]

ANC women's league: 'What is distressing is the reaction of some men in court who jumped up and celebrated ... as if they had won a trophy'.

[Omah]

Originally Posted by Munchkins

This case really is confusing me, why has he been given bail

Izzit cos he is rich and white .....

[Omah]

1547: The Reuters news agency reports that a car believed to be carrying Oscar Pistorius has left Pretoria magistrates court, pursued by motorcycles.

[arista]

Originally Posted by Omah

ANC women's league: 'What is distressing is the reaction of some men in court who jumped up and celebrated ... as if they had won a trophy'.

Yes is this
OJ again.

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by Omah

ANC women's league: 'What is distressing is the reaction of some men in court who jumped up and celebrated ... as if they had won a trophy'.

Not following this case too closely but I was a bit dismayed when some friends of his on exiting the court a few days ago were laughing that it has been a good day for the defence, I felt it was totally inappropriate, I think it might even have been the day Reeva was cremated, it just looked wrong. I believe he will not be convicted of this crime, but for me at the moment his story appears to be full of discrepancies.