Johannesburg – The murder trial of Oscar Pistorius resumes on Monday after one month during which mental health experts evaluated the athlete to determine if he has an anxiety disorder that could have influenced his actions on the night he killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Judge Thokozile Masipa is expected to receive the conclusions of a panel of one psychologist and three psychiatrists who were instructed to assess whether he was capable of understanding the wrongfulness of his act when he shot Steenkamp through a closed toilet door in his home on Valentine’s Day last year.

The assessments of a panel at a state psychiatric hospital could determine whether he should be held criminally responsible and affect the judge’s deliberations on a verdict or, in the event of a conviction, the severity of the sentence, according to legal analysts.

The evaluation came after a psychiatrist, Dr Merryll Vorster, testified for the defence that Pistorius, who has said he feels vulnerable because of his disability and long-held worry about crime, had an anxiety disorder that could have contributed to the killing. He testified that he opened fire after mistakenly thinking there was a dangerous intruder in the toilet.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel has alleged that Pistorius, 27, killed the 29-year-old model after an argument, and has portrayed the Olympic athlete as a hothead with a love of guns and an inflated sense of entitlement. But he requested an independent inquiry into Pistorius’s state of mind, based on concern the defence would argue Pistorius was not guilty because of mental illness.

Pistorius’s defence team could get a boost if the hospital evaluation roughly aligns with the conclusions of Vorster, the defence witness, said a legal expert observing the trial. Kelly Phelps, a senior lecturer in the public law department at the University of Cape Town, said a diagnosis that Pistorius has an anxiety disorder could add weight to his account and compel the judge to consider the question: “Is it more likely that he is telling the truth about what occurred on that night?”

Even if the judge rules that Pistorius is guilty despite any disorder that he is suffering, Phelps said, the diagnosis could be a mitigating factor when he is sentenced.

“That is the area of law that is often referred to as diminished responsibility,” she said.

Other possible conclusions in the psychiatric evaluation are that Pistorius is not suffering from any anxiety disorder, which could undermine his defence. Alternatively, it might be found that he was incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong or acting in accordance with that understanding, which could lead to a verdict of not guilty because of mental illness and referral to state psychiatric care.

Pistorius faces 25 years to life in prison if found guilty of premeditated murder, and could also face years in prison if convicted of murder without premeditation or negligent killing. He is free on bail.

Once Judge Masipa receives the conclusions from the mental health experts, the defence will be in a position to call its few remaining witnesses, prior to closing arguments and Masipa’s deliberation on a verdict. If, however, the experts who observed Pistorius are not unanimous in their conclusions, the judge can call them to the stand to clarify their findings.

Pistorius was evaluated as an outpatient at Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital in Pretoria. He has been staying at the upscale home of his uncle.

AP

Durban – A man was wounded with serious injuries during a shooting along Palm Castle Road in Durban on Sunday, paramedics said.

“Exact detail to the cause of the shooting and preceding events will remain a subject for police investigation and comment,” Netcare 911 spokesperson Chris Botha said.

“Netcare 911 paramedics arrived at the scene and found a man in his fifties with a serious gunshot wound. After he was stabilised at the scene they transported him to a hospital in Durban for the care that he required.”
SAPA

Johannesburg – No staff have been dismissed at the Sun City resort in the North West, Sun International said on Sunday.

“Sun International can confirm that approximately 160 people employed across the Sun City resort are under investigation for theft of food and beverage consumables,” spokesperson Michael Farr said in a statement.

“Only 30 of these staff members are Sun City employees. The balance are employed by four external service providers.’

Contrary to claims made by the Congress of SA Trade Unions in the North West reported elsewhere, Sun City had not dismissed any staff, and was waiting for the outcome of the investigation before action was taken.

On Saturday, Cosatu regional secretary Solly Phetoe said hundreds of people working at the resort protested outside the premises on Saturday.

The protesters were demanding the immediate re-instatement of between 200 and 250 of their colleagues, who were fired during the week.

“The protesters allege that management has placed video cameras in toilets and in the kitchens to monitor them,” said Phetoe.

Illegal protest

Some workers were fired for allegedly spending too much time in the kitchen and rest rooms, while others were alleged to have been filmed stealing, Phetoe said at the time.

He called on the resort’s management to provide proof of this by showing the material it had.

Farr said it could be confirmed staff employed by one of the four service providers had been suspended by their employer pending the outcome of the investigation and disciplinary process.

“The investigation is into hundreds of incidents of theft recorded on camera by security,” Farr said.

“Sun City management is entirely comfortable that they have complied with the correct processes by informing their recognised trade union Saccawu (SA Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union), who has raised no objection to the investigations.”

Farr said the “illegal protest” held on Saturday involved 100 to 150 people and not 3000 as reported by Cosatu.

“Participants in the illegal protest were staff under investigation, their colleagues and others not known to us at all,” he said.

“Although the protestors prevented Sun City as well as other employees from entering the resort, Sun City remained operationally functional.”

Contingency measures were also employed to ensure the ongoing well-being and comfort of visitors.

“Additional allegations from Cosatu North West of racism, coupled with claims that there are cameras inside toilets are not only completely unfounded, they are also inflammatory,” Farr said.
SAPA

Johannesburg – The Farlam Commission of Inquiry is expected to continue in Pretoria on Monday

At the commission’s previous sitting on Friday, factors influencing the level of force used by the police during the Marikana shootings came under the spotlight.

Police lawyer, Ishmael Semenya SC, cross-examined international public order policing expert Gary White, who has criticised the police’s Marikana intervention.

“Mr White, if we are able to establish that this group of 300 or 400 sharp instrument wielding people was attacking the police, I want to suggest that it is a threat that could be contained through non-lethal force,” said Semenya.

White said the police’s response to the crowd would be determined by a number of circumstances.

The inquiry is investigating the deaths of 44 people during strike-related violence at Lonmin’s platinum mining operations at Marikana, near Rustenburg in the North West.

Thirty-four people, mostly striking mineworkers, were shot dead in a clash with the police, more than 70 were wounded, and 250 were arrested on 16 August 2012. Police were apparently trying to disarm and disperse them.

In the preceding week, 10 people, including two policemen and two security guards, were killed.
SAPA