Unthinkable! Shocking! Incredible! How else can one describe the ‘Not Guilty’ verdict reached by Judge Thokozile Masipa in the murder case against Oscar Pistorius? The double amputee was sensationally cleared of the Valentine’s Day murder of his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp. Unbelievable, yes... but it’s true! The judge must have been bribed to reach such an absurd decision.

In his evidence, Pistorius said that it was not his intention to kill, yet he fired not just one shot but four shots in a row with a 9mm pistol! He also said that initially he thought that there was an intruder in the room and mistook his girlfriend for him. Unfortunately, he was so deaf and dumb that he couldn’t hear Reeva crying and begging him to stop. Pistorius knew there was his girlfriend crying behind the toilet door and yet he chose to use the firearm. That same night, a few minutes before the tragedy, Reeva expressed her intention to leave him. He couldn’t digest the bad news and when he realised that his girlfriend meant what she said, he decided to silence her once and for all... and silence her he did!

The judge concluded that there was not enough evidence to prove he gunned her down in cold blood. Instead, she found him guilty of negligence and culpable homicide, equivalent to manslaughter. The ‘blade runner’ used excessive force and was negligent when he fired four bullets through a locked bathroom door. The judge also said that Pistorius was evasive in the witness stand and yet she chose not to convict him of first degree murder! 

Why is the justice system around the globe so corrupt? Why is it that if you have money you can bribe even the judges? People in the street have lost faith in the judicial system. The only way out of this dilemma is to take justice into your hands. If a victim is murdered in cold blood, the villain should pay with his blood. Nothing less will ever do.

Jos Edmond Zarb

Birkirkara