Oscar Pistorius: South Africa on trial as culture of violence thrust into limelight

The alleged murder

Valentine by Paralympian Oscar Pistorius his girlfriend glamor drew attention to entrenched attitudes among women - and firearms

The stage was set for the pomp and pageantry, but to be fair, not everybody television fascinating idea. The opening of Parliament in Cape Town, which always falls close to the anniversary of the release of Nelson Mandela, South Africa is the day to be at the ceremony and hear the President of the State leadership of the country.

Whatever

President Jacob Zuma has promised this year, it is likely that few remember. The event was completely overshadowed by a drama that unfolds almost 1000 miles in Pretoria. Thursday morning, he learned that South African Oscar Pistorius, one of the greatest athletes of its exports, was allegedly shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, ??a model and reality TV candidate.

In a country where the covers are usually dominated by strikes, power struggles and corruption, and the debate on inequality and race, it was something different - and something photogenic . The glamorous celebrity couple was dubbed "South Africa's answer to Posh and Becks", even if a little too early, after only a few months of dating.

Suddenly veteran correspondents wars in Africa are those who attempt to "address" neighbors pursuing police cars and locate former girlfriends. Pistorius - known as Blade Runner due to its hi-tech artificial legs - denies the murder, but in America the case is already being compared to OJ Simpson, paving the way for one of the most spectacular events of the history of South Africa

This tragedy was sudden and unexpected traumatic for a national psyche fragile. There was a debate on culture rooted in the land with violence, especially against women, and raised questions about whether Pistorius, white and rich, will be treated more favorably than 160,000 inmates suffer imprisonment the most overcrowded prison system in Africa.

Freimond Craig, director and writer, was about to give a lecture to students at the school last Thursday, when he heard the news: "A woman came to me and said Oscar Pistorius arrested for shooting his girlfriend. I was like, 'No, this is impossible. "One of our greatest heroes takes his girlfriend? Seismic It is. I find it very annoying. This is certainly cause some sort of deep emotional reaction of South Africans."

Like many fellow Freimond had accepted the Olympic and Paralympic status as a role model, no doubt. "We have very few of them in this country. Perhaps because of our dividedness, heroes do not have much of those affecting all groups. This cut across. Superhuman He was the soul. "

initial reports suggested that the murder was a "terrible accident" in which Pistorius mistook his girlfriend for an intruder - a plausible scenario in a country which, according to police figures, saw 16,766 flights in recent years in residential premises. Media and social radio, South Africans have expressed their support and sympathy for the 26 years.

But as it happened on Thursday, the police rejected the theory, insisting that he was not come to them, and said four shots were fired after neighbors heard screams. Public sympathy for the corridor began to decrease, especially when the media began to rebuild the "dark side" Pistorius: a survey of dangerous driving after a boating accident, a night in custody after alleged assault ( a charge later dropped), a reported threat to break the legs of a man in a dispute over a woman.

Then there was his interest, perhaps an obsession with firearms. Interview

New York Times

review found Pistorius about how he pulled a gun to enter your home when the alarm is triggered.

Friday there was a disappointment to many as Pistorius has appeared in court to face a charge of premeditated murder. "The guy was at the height of his power," said Freimond. "It is inconceivable that a hero for millions of people who would do such a thing."

• The tragedy has prompted calls for a debate on gun control and gun culture convulsing as another country with a turbulent history Racial America. Last weekend Trent Barcroft, CEO of Chrysler in South Africa, was in intensive care after being shot during a robbery outside Johannesburg. In 2010, the Swedish wife Anni Dewani was shot dead while on honeymoon in Cape Town, her British husband, Shrien, is fighting extradition. The vast majority of cases never make the news.
Up to six million African civilians own weapons - about 12% of the population - according to estimates. Airports and casinos have significant signs directing people to places of storage lay down their arms. Much to save for their own defense, citing the country's crime rate dramatically, but causing an inevitable arms race with criminals. Gated communities, including one in which he lives Pistorius, with high walls and electric fences, security, but probably ignite the gap between the haves and have-nots.

"There is no doubt that there is a gun culture," said David Bruce, criminal justice researcher. Late 1990's and early 2000, there was an effective campaign, at he added, which means that South Africa has strict laws on the possession of weapons. Weapons Act 2004 Control limits people a weapon for self defense and weapons have since been overtaken by "sharp" as the main cause of the murders. many are still illegally detained, though. "trope The South African 'laws and policies, what happens to your application? Seems apply in this case," said Bruce.

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