HAPPY BIRTHDAY IRVIN KHOZA: but at 69, perhaps it's time to step down

SALUTE! Irvin Khoza, 69 on Friday

Irvin Khoza is a very, very, very nice man.

ZOMBIE STOPPER VIDEO! This is the Oscar Pistorius footage Barry Roux didn't want you to see today

This is the Oscar Pistorius "Zombie Stopper" video Barry Roux doesn't want you to see in the Oscar trial today. As I write, Justice Masipa is still deciding on whether this footage can be shown in court.

It aired on Sky News on February 28. Here he can be seen shooting melons with Springbok rugby star Francois Hougaard, the Blue Bulls back who was also a close friend of the deceased Reeva Steenkamp.

The words: "It's a lot softer than a brain but it's like a zombie stopper" can be heard. Not suprisingly, defence advocate Roux wants to stop prosecutor Gerrie Nel showing this footage after a fierce start to his cross-examination.

Roux argues this video is an "ambush" on the part of the state and never formed part of their case but Nel says Oscar, having denied all knowledge of "zombie stoppers" asked to see the video.

Ultimately, Roux agreed to the court viewing this video as long as it didn't set a precedent. Nel immediately tore in to Pistorius, comparing Reeva's shattered skull with the water melon's being exploded. Oscar immediately broke down in tears as he was told to look at a photograph of Reeva's head wound... and he was told to take "take responsibility". Within minutes, Justice Masipa had called an adjournment.

The Zombie Killer ploy, an ambush without question, may have turned this trial.

Oscar victorious: he's free, but under THESE conditions

Bladegunner: Oscar and sister Aimee leave court

 

OSCAR PISTORIUS, in case you hadn't heard, was granted bail on a charge of murder before the full glare of the world's media this afternoon. Clearly, that's something of a victory for the first amputee to compete in the able-bodied Olympics.

The man who put four bullets through his toilet door on Valentine's Day, killing his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, has been cleared to live a normal life - at least until June 4 when the case resumes.

Tonight, on SportsTalk on www.702.co.za just after 7pm, we will be asking James Evans, the head of Athletics South Africa, if Oscar will be able to compete in the South African national championships in Cape Town on April 12 and 13. Just this morning, his coach, Ampie Louw, said he hopes to have him back on the track training by Monday.

But do his bail conditions allow Oscar to train... or even compete? Should they be harsher? Will he want to compete again given his apparent emotional state over the past four days in the dock? Oscar was due to spend a further night in Brooklyn Police station tonight as the R100,000 cash installment on his bail could not be paid by the end of the day.

But a last-minute deal with his highly-efficient defence team saw him whisked to an "upmarket home" in plush Waterkloof. After today's lengthy summation from magistrate Desmond Nair - which at one point touched on the Boer War - questions continue to be asked about the role of discredited Investigations Officer Hilton Botha - but for now attention must turn to Oscar's bail order.
 
These are the full set of conditions set by the long-winded Nair after a two-hour speech in Pretoria:

1 Oscar, who has already given up his passport, is not allowed near any airports without permission.

2 |(This is the best bit). He must surrender all firearms.

3 He cannot communicate with prosecution witnesses.

4 Pistorius has to inform authorities if he leaves Tshwane municipality.

5 He must be in contact with a state probation officer to asses his emotional state and receive counselling where necessary.

6 Pistorius is banned from consuming alcohol or drugs. He must take random alcohol and drug tests if instructed.

7 Magistrate Nair turned down the defence's request for R250,000 bail and instead instructed Pistorius to pay R1m - but said he could be released after a cash payment of R100,000.

8: He will return to court on June 4 when the case resumes.

9: He will NOT be permitted to stay at the crime scene, his home in the secure Silver Woods estate east of Pretoria.

10: Pistorius must not return to scene of the shooting, he cannot talk to residents except Stander family and contractors.

11: He must report to Brooklyn police station between 7am and 1pm every Monday and Friday.

Without comment: The Oscar Pistorius affidavit

Charged with murder: Oscar Pretorius

Barry Roux, the advocate for Oscar Pistorius, read this 10-page statement to the court in Pretoria today, while girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, shot four times at Oscar's home on Valentine's Day, was being laid to rest in Port Elizabeth.
Last year, Oscar - still just 25 - became the first amputee to run in the Olympics at the summer games in London.
His application for bail on a charge of murder will continue tomorrow.

"I deny the aforesaid allegation in the strongest terms.

"On 13 February, Reeva would have gone out with her friends and I with my friends.

"Reeva then called me and asked that we rather spend the evening at home.

"I agreed and we were content to have a quiet dinner together at home.

"By about 10pm on 13 February 2013, we were in our bedroom. She was doing her yoga exercises and I was in bed watching television.

"My prosthetic legs were off. We were deeply in love and I could not be happier. I know she felt the same way.

"She had given me a present for Valentine's Day, but asked me only to open it the next day."


"I am acutely aware of violent crime being committed by intruders entering homes with a view to commit crime, including violent crime. I have received death threats before. I have also been a victim of violence and of burglary before.

"For that reason, I kept my firearm, a 9mm Parabellum, underneath my bed when I went to bed at night.

"During the early hours of 14 February, 2013, I woke up, went onto the balcony to bring the fan in and close the sliding door, the blinds and the curtains.

"I heard a noise in the bathroom and realised that someone was in the bathroom. I felt a sense of terror rushing over me.

"There are no burglar bars across the bathroom window and I knew that contractors who worked at my house had left the ladders outside.

"Although I did not have my prosthetic legs on I have mobility on my stumps.

"I believed that someone had entered my house. I was too scared to switch a light on. I grabbed my 9mm pistol from underneath my bed.

"On my way to the bathroom, I screamed words to the effect for him/them to get out of my house and for Reeva to phone the police.

"It was pitch dark in the bedroom and I thought Reeva was in bed. I noticed that the bathroom window was open. I realised that the intruder/s was/were in the toilet because the toilet door was closed and I did not see anyone in the bathroom.

"I heard movement inside the toilet. The toilet is inside the bathroom and has a separate door.

"It filled me with horror and fear of an intruder or intruders being inside the toilet.

"I thought he or they must have entered through the unprotected window.

"As I did not have my prosthetic legs on and felt extremely vulnerable, I knew I had to protect Reeva and myself.

"I believed that when the intruder/s came out of the toilet we would be in grave danger.

"I felt trapped as my bedroom door was locked and I have limited mobility on my stumps.

"I fired shots at the toilet door and shouted to Reeva to phone the police.

"She did not respond and I moved backwards out of the bathroom, keeping my eyes on the bathroom entrance.

"Everything was pitch dark in the bedroom and I was still too scared to switch on a light. Reeva was not responding.

"When I reached the bed, I realised that Reeva was not in bed.

"That is when it dawned on me that it could have been Reeva who was in the toilet.

"I returned to the bathroom calling her name. I tried to open the toilet door but it was locked. I rushed back into the bedroom and opened the sliding door, exiting onto the balcony and screamed for help.

"I put on my prosthetic legs, ran back to the bathroom and tried to kick the toilet door open.

"I think I must then have turned on the lights.

"I went back into the bedroom and grabbed my cricket bat to bash open the toilet door. A panel or panels broke off and I found the key on the floor and unlocked and opened the door.

"Reeva was slumped over but alive.

"I battled to get her out of the toilet and pulled her into the bathroom.

"I phoned Johan Stander who was involved in the administration of the estate and asked him to phone the ambulance. I phoned Netcare and asked for help.

"I went downstairs to open the front door. I returned to the bathroom and picked Reeva up as I had been told not to wait for the paramedics, but to take her to hospital.

"I carried her downstairs in order to take her to the hospital. On my way down, Stander arrived. A doctor who lives in the complex also arrived.

"Downstairs, I tried to render the assistance to Reeva that I could, but she died in my arms.

"I am absolutely mortified by the events and the devastating loss of my beloved Reeva.

"With the benefit of hindsight I believe that Reeva went to the toilet when I went out onto the balcony to bring the fan in.

"I cannot bear to think of the suffering I have caused her and her family, knowing how much she was loved.

"I also know that the events of that tragic night were as I have described them and that in due course I have no doubt the police and expert investigators will bear this out."

What we know about Oscar Pistorius. And what we don't

Reeva and friends, retweeted on twitter by Francois Hougaard

There is a thin but comforting line between sport and news. This week, for obvious reasons, the vibrant world of goals, trophies and fans was rudely interrupted by the sound of gunfire.

Oscar Pistorius, the first amputee to compete in the able-bodied Olympics in London this year, is one of South Africa’s few globally recognised sporting stars. The news that he had shot his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp simply shook the world we live in, turned sport upside-down.

Yes, Popes resign, meteorites flash across Russian skies, trains crash… and sport carries glibly on, reporting on Robin van Persie versus Cristiano Ronaldo, South Africa v Pakistan… even Bafana Bafana v Mali despite the war raging around Timbuktu.

But Oscar impinges. He is a genuine sporting hero. Loved by all for his tenacity in the face of being born with no shin bones, his ability to lead an superstar sporting life while most others would retire to a wheelchair and self-pity.

How do we cope when a star of that magnitude appears to be crashing and burning?

The initial tale – picked up wholeheartedly by the Oscar-sympathetic newspapers – suggested he had mistaken the beautiful Reeva for an intruder in his high-security estate. Tragic but accidental.

But once details from unnamed police sources emerged, that theory appeared to fall apart. By Sunday morning, we had suggestions of blood in the bedroom, a shot fired, a cricket bat used… and a frightened woman hiding in the bathroom. Then four bullets through the door.

Two of those bullets hit Reeva in the head. She did not die instantly. Lurid eye-witness reports suggest Oscar tried to resuscitate his girlfriend – though why he called a mutual friend rather than the emergency services to report the incident remain unexplained.

All we can say with any confidence before Oscar’s return to court on Tuesday is that he pulled the trigger, he - and he alone - killed the woman he called “baba”.

With former Sun editor Stuart Higgins arriving to provide “positive spin” to his heavyweight legal team, we read of Oscar’s father Henke telling the UK Sunday Telegraph: “Crime is endemic in South Africa. When you see somebody in your house, you shoot.”

He went on to explain how “Oscar grew up hunting, my sons grew up with guns” and he said Oscar's action were "instinctive - and sportsmen react to instinct" but that hardly explains the need for small arms in a secure estate – or why Oscar had SEVEN more gun licences pending.

It doesn’t explain recent incidents involving the police where Oscar had lost his cool with so-called “love rivals” Quinton van den Bergh and Francois Hougaard.

As journalists – even sports journalists – we are trained not to pre-judge issues until all the facts come to light. In this case, we must attempt to stick to that creed.

But it’s damned difficult.

I’ve spoken to a lad who went to Constantia Primary with Oscar. He says, disabled or not, Pistorius was a bully. That he was cock of the walk at Pretoria Boy’s High. That he was, predictably for a sporting celebrity, surrounded by sycophantic yes men who let him act as he pleased.

The more recent of the many women in his life suggest he was not the most chivalrous of men. Others talk of his parents' divorce, his mother's death. A bloke who, for all his talent, went the way of so many top sportsmen... down the road of arrogance, shagging and insecurity

And always, in the background, the beautiful Reeva, loved by all. Gone.

Given recent cases – Shrien Dewani and Nico Henning spring to mind, just have a look on Google – it’s hard to believe in justice for the well-off and famous. But we must. On Tuesday, let’s hear what forensics have to say. If today's police leaks were accurate. How Oscar’s legal team explain away the shooting of multiple bullets at an apparently defenceless woman.

And hope that justice is done.

This story will appear as my Neal and Pray column in www.thenewage.co.za on Tuesday.

The senseless murder of world heavyweight champion Corrie Sanders: eye-witness account, his last interview... and moving tributes

Tragic: Corrie Sanders

CORRIE SANDERS, the man who stunned the boxing world when he defeated Wladimir Klitschko to win the WBO heavyweight title in 2003, died this morning in hospital after being shot at his nephew’s 21^st birthday party.

The death of one of South Africa’s most popular sportsmen, aged 46, rocked the nation on Sunday morning as news of his death spread through the social networks.

He was the victim of a random shooting when three armed men raided the restaurant at Thatch Haven Country Lodge, just off Carel de Wet Road near Brits outside Pretoria. Latest reports suggest he was shot when he stood up to protect his family. Sanders died this morning after emergency surgery at Kalafong Hospital this morning.

An eye-witness, who wishes to remain anonymous, told me this morning: “Corrie was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. They shot him in the stomach. There was also a wound in his arm. I’m not sure if it was all from the same bullet.”
His wife Sunette told reporters later: "I think he died a hero. He went to protect his girl because there were shots." She also said the robbers were "kicking and slapping people" as they entered the restaurant.

As tributes to the fallen champion flooded Twitter, my eye-witness, a close friend of the family, said: “We were at Thatch Haven near Brits to celebrate with Corrie’s brother Mike. His son, also Mike, is 21 next week.

“There were 48 people at the restaurant, it’s just off the main road. We arrived at around 4pm on Saturday. At about 6pm, as it was getting dark, Mike gave a speech. Then the grandfather stood up and offered a prayer.

“That’s when we heard three or four shots. At first we thought it was the kids playing around. Then we realised it was serious.

“There were three of them. Armed with pistols. They were telling everyone to lie down and give them their wallets and mobile phones. They didn’t take much. They were working their way through the room when a car alarm went off outside and they panicked and ran.

“Corrie was the only one shot. He didn’t try anything heroic as far as I could see. He was just in the wrong place, by the entrance. They shot him through the stomach and I also saw a wound in his arm, it might have been from the same bullet, which went right through him.
"I think they shot him as a lesson to the rest of us, to say they were serious.

“We called the ambulance. The NetCare people were very good, even though Corrie didn’t have any medical insurance. They operated in the hospital, but he died early this morning.

“I would say this. The function was not advertised anywhere. How did they know what was going on? Some people say security had been speaking to these men earlier. We are all still in shock. I don’t want to be quoted on this. It’s too awful.”

Cornelius Johannes Sanders was born on January 7, 1966 in Pretoria. He began fighting in 1989, aged 23 and won his first 23 professional bouts, 15 of them knock-outs.

Among his victims: future WBO cruiserweight champion Johnny Nelson and future world title challenger Bert Cooper. Despite his first defeat in 1994 against Nate Tubbs - a second round knockout – he went on to beat former world cruiserweight champion Carlos De León with a first round knock-out and a second round knockout over another former world champion, Bobby Czyz.

Defeat against future heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman - controversially - saw southpaw Sanders gain a reputation for vulnerability. But that all changed a year later. After fighting three rounds in two years, he gained was given a surprise tilt at the world heavyweight title against Klitschko in Hanover, Gemany, on 8 March 2003 after Danny Williams withdrew at the last minute.

Against all the odds, he put the huge Ukrainian down four times and won on a second-round knock-out to take Wladimir’s WBO belt.

Corrie took on big brother Vitali Klitschko in an attempt to grab the vacant WBC heavyweight crown on April 24, 2004, at Staples Centre in Los Angeles but was stopped in the eighth round.

Sanders never quite recovered his world title form and after a series of retirements finally gave up boxing with a record of 42 fights, four defeats and 31 knock-outs.

Interviewed by the Sunday Tribune’s Lungami Zami at a golf day earlier this month, Sanders said: “I thought that I could have gone for a shot at a world title much earlier. I always felt that my promoter, Rodney Berman, kept me wrapped in cotton-wool for too long, and by the time I got my shot, I was already 38.

“I do motivational talks and things like that at schools and in companies, and I must say that it always makes me very proud to go out and meet all the great people in this wonderful country of ours.

“I loved this country too much to move to the US like other boxers. It might sound strange, but I felt I had more black fans than white. I think the two big sports in the black community are boxing and soccer, and whenever I was out and about, they would stop me and want to chat. That was always very humbling.

“Being based here was a bit easier in that sense, because being a boxer is not easy on your family. My wife watched only a few of my fights live, and preferred to tape them, and then watch them once she knew what the result was.”

“I was blessed to have the family I have, and even though my kids were really young during my career, they have a lot of memories to fall back on."

Sanders played golf of a handicap of just three and said: “I’m a member at Pecanwood, as well as the Els Club. Golf was something I did to relax, and I got down to a one and scratch at a point, but these days it’s not as consistent.”

And on his monumental upset against Klitschko, Sanders said: “My mate, Naas Botha, always says to me that whatever happens in life, no one can ever take that away from me.

“A few people have come together and there is a proper gym being built in Midstream. When it opens, I will be in there, trying to help find our next world champion.”

Tributes to a much-loved South African sporting hero poured in with Springbok rugby player Breyton Paulse twittering: “Gone too soon,” and Olympic gold medallist Cameron van der Burg adding: “Rest in peace Corrie. A champion of the world.”

Former Springbok captain John Smit tweeted: "Just woke up to news of Corrie Sanders having been murdered last night, what another senseless waste of life in SA. RIP Champion."

Former Proteas cricketer Pat Symcox said: "Feel sick to the core. Just so damn angry over Corrie's murder. A helpless feeling and one that wants to scream out." Former captain Shaun Pollock twittered: "Tragic news about Corrie Sanders. My thoughts are with his family. RIP."

Former Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates star Mark Fish said: "So sad to hear about the tragic death of SA boxing great and a true gentleman Corrie Sanders. Condolences to all his family."

Sports reporter David Isaacson said: "Harold Volbrecht had a small gym, Corrie and Msukisi Sikali were stable-mates and world champs together. Both murdered. Shocking."

Radio presenter Darren Scott pulled no punches. He tweeted: "To the sons of bitches who murdered my friend Corrie Sanders. I hope you fucking rot in hell."