The life of Oscar Pistorius after being released from prison: without work, a volunteer in a church and a refugee in his uncle's mansion

On February 14, 2013, Valentine's Day, South African Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius, now 37, killed his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, ​​then 29. Pistorius, who at that time was at the peak of her sporting career, killed her by shooting her four times through the bathroom door of her house in Pretoria (South Africa), while she was inside it. . He admitted to shooting her, but claimed he had mistaken her for a thief. Since then, her life has been a succession of convictions and appeals. He was first sentenced to five years in prison for manslaughter, then six, and later the sentence was increased to 15 years in prison. In the end, the sentence was set at 13 years and five months, after deducting the time he had already spent behind bars. He was released on parole on January 5, 2024, 11 years after murdering his girlfriend and after almost nine years in prison. Three months later, the former athlete is in no man's land.

Oscar Pistorius now lives in refuge in his uncle Arnold's luxurious three-story mansion in Pretoria. It is certainly a big improvement in terms of accommodation, after spending almost a decade in a cell. But according to media outlets such as

, new problems arise for Pistorius in his new life in semi-freedom, after his former friends have ostracized him and no one is considering helping him find work.

According to the American media, the former athlete has contacted at least two members of the International Paralympic Committee to ask about the possibility of working together in some way, but has been rejected in his attempt to return to the sporting world. “He's too toxic to work with now. There is nothing for him here,” one of the members admitted to the newspaper.

So, at work, he has been forced to change the athletics track for the church. The American media assures that he currently works as a volunteer at NG Kerk Waterkloof, the Christian church where his uncle attends, where he performs maintenance and janitorial tasks. “He attends the services in silence,” states the newspaper, which he has contacted several parishioners. One of them admits that he is unrecognizable: “He has longer hair and a beard. He's not as thin as he expected either. You would never know he is an athlete.” Another claims that he is not friendly or outgoing and that he never smiles: “He is just a shadow of what he once was.”

Pistorius, who made history in 2012 by becoming the first double-amputee athlete to compete in the Olympic Games and has several medals under his belt, will be under surveillance until his sentence officially ends. And that will be in 2029. A probation officer visits him at random times of the day, the South African Department of Corrections confirms. Additionally, he is subject to regular alcohol and drug testing. He is also prohibited from contacting Steenkamp's family. “I had to get out, it's inevitable,” Reeva's mother lamented in a television interview after the former athlete's release earlier this year. “It's not going to make any difference in my life,” she acknowledged.

During his probation, he is also prohibited from posting on social media, giving interviews or releasing a memoir about his life — which would surely improve the status of his checking account. Therefore, she currently spends her days between the church and his uncle's mansion, in the exclusive suburb of Waterkloof. The complex, according to

, has armed guards, electronic defenses and several “attack dogs.” All security measures that in this case protect him from the outside, contrary to what he has experienced during these years of his prison sentence.