The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) has confirmed that convicted murderer, Paralympian Oscar Pistorius, has been moved from a correctional facility in Pretoria to prison in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape.
DCS spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said the move was part of a process in which Pistorius is eligible for parole after serving half of his 13-year sentence.
The disgraced athlete has been serving the sentence for the murder of his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine’s Day in 2013.
“The transfer is necessitated by the need to commence with the processes of a victim-offender-dialogue as the victims are based in Gqeberha.
Offenders participate in the victim-offender-dialogue as part of their rehabilitation path, wherein they are able to acknowledge the harm they have caused to their victims and the society at large,” Nxumalo added.
“Victim-offender dialogues are sensitive, emotional, and inconsolable; hence they are presided [over] by highly trained officials who ought to ensure that all parties derive value from the process. DCS is unable to pre-empt the timeframe as this will be guided by the level of preparedness by all participants.”
He added that victim-offender-dialogues were not a parole placement process, but a program that took place before an offender could be considered for parole.
