Pretoria – Most witnesses refused to testify for the defence in paralympian Oscar Pistorius’s murder trial, his lawyer Barry Roux told the North Gauteng High Court on Tuesday.

“We were unable to call a number of witnesses because they refused, and didn’t want their voices heard all over the world,” Roux said.

There was nothing the defence could do to change their minds, he said.

Roux did not tell the court who those witnesses were.

The defence closed its case.

The State would file its heads of argument on 30 July, and the defence on 4 August. Argument would then be heard in court on 7 and 8 August.

Judge Thokozile Masipa ordered that the contents of the heads of argument not be published by print or broadcast media until they were heard in court.

Pistorius is charged with murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on 14 February last year. He claims he shot her by accident through the locked door of the toilet in his Pretoria home, thinking she was an intruder about to emerge and attack him.

The State contends he killed her during an argument.

SAPA