By Hassan Sanusi
Reeva Steenkamp‘s parents have rejected money offered to them by Oscar Pistorius.
The Olympic and Paralympic athlete is currently undergoing his sentence hearing after being found guilty of culpable homicide last month for the shooting of his girlfriend and it is has now emerged he’s been making secret payments to her parents.
June and Barry Steenkamp have been receiving monthly payments of 6,000 South African rand, the equivalent of £341, since Reeva’s tragic death but have turned down a lump sum of 375,000 rand (£21,299) as ‘blood money’ and have vowed to return ‘every cent’ they’ve accepted so far.
Pistorius was cleared of 29-year-old Reeva’s murder during last month’s court hearing but was convicted of culpable homicide after shooting her four times through a locked bathroom door at his home, claiming he’d mistaken her for an intruder.
And on Tuesday, October 14, 2014 during his sentencing, prosecutor Gerrie Nel presented a report that revealed he had been making monthly payments to his late girlfriend’s parents.
According to The Guardian newspaper, Nel to the court: ‘Those monies will be paid back to the accused in full, every cent.’
Referring to the 375,000 rand he’d transferred into the trust account of June’s lawyer, Nel added: ‘She rejects that, she doesn’t want blood money.’
Explaining the payments made to the Steenkamps, their lawyer, Dup de Bruyn, claimed they began a month after the death of their daughter in March 2013.
He said: ‘When Reeva passed away, they were in financial straits. I conveyed this to Mr. Pistorius’ lawyer. He came back with an offer of 6,000 a month for 18 months. When he started paying, we thought it fair to make that public, but the request was from Oscar through his lawyers to keep it confidential. We honoured that request.’
