In 40 days, it’ll be 11 years since she last spoke to her daughter, Reeva Steenkamp.
June Steenkamp describes the day she lost her daughter for good as “the day that life changed forever”.
When Reeva was shot and killed through the bathroom door by her partner, paralympian Oscar Pistorius, she was only 30 years old.
On the fateful day, Oscar lost his hero status as well as his career. At the time, he was a world champion and record-breaking athlete.
About two years after this day, he was convicted of the crime even after he pleaded not guilty at the North Gauteng high court in 2014 on the basis that he mistook Reeve for an intruder when he pulled the trigger.
During his trial, the judge found Pistorius guilty of the lesser crime of culpable homicide – comparable to manslaughter – ruling that there was no evidence he had wanted to kill Steenkamp, as reported by The Guardian.
Eventually in 2015, the 37-year-old was sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison after an appeal that the initial six-year sentence was too lenient.
After serving half of his sentence last year and being eligible for parole, the correctional services board deemed him fit for social reintegration.
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June urged the parole board to “treat the safety of women as the most important consideration” in its deliberations, highlighting that Oscar hasn’t accepted that he targeted her daughter.
“I do not believe Oscar’s version that he thought the person in the toilet was a burglar. I do not know anybody who does. My dearest child screamed for her life, loud enough for the neighbours to hear her,” she wrote in a previous statement.
“I do not know what gave rise to his choice to shoot through a closed door four times with hollow-point ammunition when, I believe, he knew it was Reeva.”
She added that she was not convinced Pistorius had been rehabilitated but that she would not oppose his release if officials decided otherwise.
Indeed, she has not opposed the release. Instead, she has poured her heart out in another statement on the official parole release of Oscar on Friday, 5 January.
“Almost 11 years later, the pain is still raw and real, and my dear late husband Barry and I have never been able to come to terms with Reeva’s death, or the way she died. Through the years, Barry and I were encouraged by the love and messages of support from both friends and strangers. Part of Barry and my daily conversations were always flooded by the sorrow we felt for the parents and families of victims whose perpetrators were not brought to book. Our thoughts remained with them as they were denied any form of closure, and the names of their loved ones were never recognised or honoured. It made us feel guilty to an extent, but at the same time the trauma of re-living and re-telling our story has been a huge cross for us to bear.”
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“The media interest meant the loss of our privacy and made it difficult to mourn in peace. Sadly, reports were often accompanied by verbal and emotional abuse by some members of the public – not only towards us but also towards our deceased daughter. It is my sincere wish, and it was Barry’s too, that people take a moment to consider the impact of their hurtful comments. We did not choose this. We would much rather have our loving daughter alive and laughing with us.”
June adds that they have always known and acknowledged that parole is part of the justice system, and it comes with their call to have the law take its course. More than anything, the parole release subject to certain conditions has affirmed her and her husband’s belief in the country’s justice system.
Oscar’s parole conditions include anger management courses and programs on gender-based violence which, to June, sends out a clear message that gender-based violence is taken seriously.
Even with this though, there has been outcry of injustice on the back of Oscar not having spent enough time behind bars.
On this, she adds that “there can never be justice if your loved one is never coming back, and no amount of time served will bring Reeva back. We, who remain behind, are the ones serving a life sentence.”
She ends off her penning by saying that her only desire now is to live her last years in peace with her focus on the Reeva Steenkamp foundation, to continue Reeva’s legacy.
