Oscar Pistorius will swap his cramped cell for the luxury of a three-storey, multi-million pound mansion in Pretoria’s most luxurious suburb, where he will study to become a preacher, Ny Breaking can reveal.
He folds his orange prison uniform, which he wore during today’s hearing, collects his personal belongings and leaves Atteridgeville prison on January 5. But it won’t be just any Good Friday for the committed Christian.
The 37-year-old Blade Runner will have to keep an eye on things for the rest of his life after Johannesburg police received information that the city’s underworld was seeking revenge for Reeva’s murder.
Oscar Pistorius (pictured 2016) will swap his cramped cell for the luxury of a three-storey, multi-million pound mansion in Pretoria’s most luxurious suburb, where he will study to become a preacher
The three-storey mansion is owned by his long-time lawyer, Uncle Arnold (right, pictured at Pistorius’ 2014 sentencing)
A prison cell in the high-security Kgosi Mampuru II prison, where Pistorius spent his first year behind bars
A photo from Kgosi Mampuru II prison shows a bathtub in a prison cell as it is revealed that Pistorius complained that he wanted a bath and they had one built for him
Gun-loving Pistorius, who once fired a gun into the floor of a restaurant amid startled diners, has sworn off enemies and two underworld figures showed their strength and threatened him by appearing in the public gallery at his trial.
One of those hard men, former professional footballer Marc Batchelor, has now been shot dead in a gangland-style hit in Johannesburg and the other was convicted murderer Mikey Schultz, who committed a contract killing.
While on bail and before he was in prison, he became paranoid about assassins targeting him, staying away from windows and keeping them closed when in a building for fear of a gunshot wound. killer.
In prison, Ny Breaking has learned, he did not relent in his paranoia and spoke of his concerns that his food could be poisoned on the orders of his underworld tormentors.
The home of Oscar Pistorius’ uncle, Arnold Pistorius, in Waterkloof, where he will live when he is released on January 5
After a year behind bars, Pistorius was transferred to Atteridgeville prison, which would suit him better due to his disability
Pistorius (right) will have served almost eleven years for the murder of Reeva Steenkamp (left). A couple was then pictured at an awards ceremony in 2012
“He started eating beans straight from the can so he could be sure the food had not been attacked and poisoned,” the source said.
But in the complex mind of the troubled former world hero, he made attempts to play the hard man himself; getting into fights and hanging out in prison with a dangerous Czech gangster.
The athlete’s decision to start smoking – he is now a chain smoker – is said to have been made to strengthen his own personality in the eyes of fellow inmates.
But Pistorius will never be allowed to touch a firearm again, and sources say he is determined to start a new life, dedicate his life to God and help others.
His uncle’s house is guarded by a security team and every motorist who enters the street where he will live must have his palm print scanned on a complex camera system at roadblocks to identify him or her. Many houses have high walls and guards.
Pistorius will also likely be protected by a security guard when he is in public places, such as during his trial.
Arnold Pistorius is said to be a second father figure to the shamed athlete and is also a deeply religious Christian.
Inmates at Atteridgeville Correctional Center work in the complex’s vegetable garden
The facility, on the outskirts of Pretoria, was described as having a ‘relaxed, family atmosphere’ and by one of Pistorius’ relatives as ‘the best place he could be as a prisoner’.
Before meals, he and his family hold hands and say grace together, thanking God for their food, and they are all regular churchgoers.
Despite being a ruthless killer, Pistorius has become a spiritual guide to other convicts on his prison block, encouraging them to read the Bible and worship Jesus.
Holing up in his uncle Arnold’s country house on a leafy street in Waterkloof, where properties sell for £10 million or more, he will be encouraged by his deeply law-abiding family to rationalize and find holiness in God.
It is this religious backbone that his family hopes will put him back on the right path, and the case is made for a life devoted full-time to God as a minister.
His parole restrictions mean he cannot leave Waterkloof and therefore the boisterous nightclubs of Johannesburg, where he would regularly party until the early hours, are off limits.
It is known from businessman Uncle Arnold that Oscar has ‘much more matured and that his soul is in the right place’ since his terrible crime.
Christmas decorations and a large crucifix are placed on the gates in celebration of the coming Christian season of goodwill.
But given the anger coming his way in the city, it may be wise for him to pray even harder for his future.