OSCAR AT THE OSCARS

IF the strength of Oscar Pistorius’s tear jerker of an appearance in a Pretoria courtroom was anything to go by, would it figure for consideration as a performance worthy of a prized Oscar?

FIRST a disclaimer. The legal principle of sub judice puts a lid on any kind of public discussion or information dissemination of matters being tried in a court of law. This, it was designed, to prevent jurors empanelled to hear a case from having their train of thought coloured by ill-informed or spicy expansion from commentators with no regard for fact. This column wishes in no way to undermine the South African constitution nor jeopardize Oscar Pistorius’ right to a fair trial. But to ignore the biggest news story to come out of the republic since the dismantling of Apartheid with the release of Mandela from Robben Island would be dereliction of duty bar none. So let’s motor on.

With the real Oscars; the 85th, taking place just as this column is being put to bed just over a week after what has been described as Oscar’s Valentine Day’s Massacre, how could anyone NOT make the morbid connection.

With his gripping performance standing up for scrutiny and grilling at his bail hearing, what would THIS Oscar win at THAT OTHER Oscars? How about the top award in the waterworks department? If he did not kill his girlfriend, celebrated model Reeva Steenkamp with any degree of premeditation, then the Oscar committee would have to create a new category for him – the ability to turn on the tap and crying on cue! A blubbering baby could not have done better.

Why did he cry? By all accounts he so very much loved his Reeva. His defence is simply built around the claim that he was shooting at someone he thought was an intruder. Never mind that three out of four shots discharged from a 19 mm Parabellum aimed in the general direction of the bathroom the “intruder” was holed in, hit its target, with fatal consequences.

Relationship

To show premeditation, the prosecution would try to build a picture of a relationship that was going south. Enough neighbours or acquaintances would have to testify that they saw cracks in the relationship. If he had slip to express his frustrations and his subsequent actions showed a degree of planning leading to the Valentine day deed, than that certainly would count against his favour.

Drama in the courtroom during the bail hearing centered on whether he was a flight risk. Though not unreasonable, one must balance this need to keep him within the reach of the courts with the right for an accused – not yet found guilty, but undoubtedly shot and killed - certain semblance of normalcy. The man needs to race. To race he needs to train. To train he needs to travel. To travel he needs his pass…..OK; that’s where it gets complicated.

South Africa, for various historical and political reasons does not have enough extradition treaties with other countries. That would cause plenty of disruptions if Pistorius decides not to return on time to face any trial back home while exercising his right to fly free.

The authorities will be derelict in their duties knowing he has a property in his ancestral homeland – Italy. His mother’s grandfather was a first generation immigrant from Italy who initially settled in Kenya.

Spotlight

With the glare of the media spotlight firmly trained on the main players, it has now emerged another Pistorius, brother Carl was involved in the death of a woman. The circumstances are wholly different as it was a traffic accident involving Carl’s car and the female motorcyclist. Carl faces a charge of culpable homicide which carries a far lighter sentence than premeditated murder faced by Oscar. The case will be tried in March which means ….both brothers might well become cellmates on Robben Island if both are found guilty!

Athletics has given Pistorius – still at 26, a very young man – a very comfortable life. Lucrative appearance fees, endorsements and sponsorships are the lifeblood of today’s professional athletes. His orthopaedic prosthetics are built by Ossur of Iceland. The special “shoes” that go with the blades are designed by Nike. (Oscar was born without a fibula in both limbs which resulted in both legs being subsequently amputatedwhen he was 11 months old).

Oakley got in the act and supplied him sporty shades he wore while competing. The competitive value of this accessory must hardly be speed enhancing, more imag boosting. In the lean, mean world of sports today, every branding and marketing opportunity brings with it the quest for medals more lucrative than gold, silver or bronze trinkets.

But with this latest tragedy, the sponsors fled. Nike, rather unfortunately, had chosen some reference of the athlete being some bullet in a chamber. Talk about providence – however fatally inappropriate it turned out! Oakley did the same – talk about seeing through rose tinted lenses! An association with rats deserting a sinking ship would not be far off the mark!

Pistorius’ exploits on the sporting tracks and battle to be accepted and compete against other able-bodied athletes will forever form part of sporting lore. His position in the annals of the history of human exploit is cemented in stone.

The Steenkamp’s are anxious that justice is done. Barry, her grieving father does not appear immediately forgiving, understandable for some still attempting to come to terms over the death of a daughter.

For him, only Oscar and the Lord knew what happened and that if Oscar was telling the truth, then maybe one day he would find the wherewithal to forgive him this trespass.

The Pistoriuses meanwhile hold the line that this was an unfortunate accident.

You and me and maybe the film industry? We think this is bloody drama that transcends sport. It is sprinkled with glamour and plenty of dramatic intrigue. The main characters are at the height of their profession and productive lives, glamorous, good looking – the works. All ingredients that, were it to be turned into a movie by just about any director would no doubt be a front runner in future Oscars!

Pistorius’s life has been fraught with the fight to gain acceptance. Now that he embarks on another journey that seeks to judge the measure of his humanity rather than his sporting exploits, it remains to be seen if he finds equal success away from the tracks.

RAZAK CHIK wonders what happened to the three elderly gentlemen who always took their seats in the public gallery in his days as a rookie reporter covering the legal beat at the Johor Baru Courts. The retired multi-racial trio always turned up religiously to listen to the proceedings of – rape cases!