https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6657450/2025/09/26/oscar-pistorius-reeva-steenkamp-legacy/
The mansion that Oscar Pistorius calls home in Pretoria is named after a breed of African eagle that swoops down on the savannahs and wetlands of the Kruger National Park, preying on lizards and snakes.
Bateleur, in the affluent suburb of Waterkloof, belongs to Pistorius’ uncle, Arnold. The most famous and notorious athlete in Paralympic history will live there until at least 2029, under the conditions of his parole following his release from the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre in January 2024.
He had served just over nine years in jail for killing his 29-year-old girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, by shooting her four times through a locked toilet door at his villa to the east of Pretoria in the early hours of Valentine’s Day 2013.
The murder of Steenkamp, a law graduate, model and television presenter, was a national tragedy. The face of an anti-bullying campaign, she promoted gender equality and spoke regularly about abuse against women. In court, a cousin, Kim Martin, described the impact of Steenkamp’s death on the family as being “like the end of the world”.
But her killer’s status as a sporting icon — the disabled runner who not only conquered the world of Para Athletics, winning six Paralympic gold medals, but also became the first double amputee to compete at the Olympics — turned his trial and subsequent imprisonment into global news.
Yet, for all the frenzy of the coverage surrounding his conviction, little has been said or written about Pistorius since his release in 2024.
There have been sightings at a church, talk of a new girlfriend — who bears a striking resemblance to Steenkamp — as well as a photograph in June 2025 of him appearing at an Ironman triathlon in Durban, an event that required consent from the parole authorities due to restrictions placed on his movement.
