Oscar: Pray for me

An elderly lady, said to be Oscar Pistorius’ grandmother, visited him at the Brooklyn Police Station yesterday. Picture: Mary-ann Palmer

Oscar Pistorius was emotional in his police cell yesterday and asked for a minister to pray for him.

Security was tight at the Brooklyn Police Station, where the Olympic hero is being held on a charge of murder.

His bail hearing is scheduled to resume on Tuesday.

Journalists and photographers camped outside the police station for most of the day.

Police at the station only allowed his family to visit him.

According to a police source, Pistorius requested a minister to pray for him in his cell.

“I saw her (the minister) with her hands on his head praying for him. But he is definitely not getting any preferential treatment. He is alone in his cell, but that could be due to the fact that there are enough cells for each person,” added the source.

“I didn’t see any personal items in his cell. He’s being treated like everyone else.”

The source added that Pistorius was not in a good space. He was seen crying just before his legal team arrived yesterday.

His legal team – including Advocate Barry Roux and attorneys Kenny Oldwage, Brian Webber and Andrew Fawcett – arrived earlier before visiting hours. They declined to comment.

A little while later, Oscar’s sister, Aimee, arrived with a friend, carrying a plastic packet with food.

She would not comment.

She was later seen leaving with the same parcel as visitors are not allowed to deliver food to suspects.

An elderly woman, said to be his grandmother on his mother’s side, also visited Pistorius and gave him a fresh T-shirt.

Pistorius’ uncle Arnold Pistorius yesterday told Sapa his nephew was happier in his private life while dating Reeva Steenkamp “than he had been for a long time”.

“As you can imagine, our entire family is devastated… firstly, about the tragic death of Reeva, who we had all got to know well and cared for deeply over the last few months.We, as a family, are also battling to come to terms with Oscar being charged with murder,” he said.

“Words cannot adequately describe our feelings. The lives of our entire family have been turned upside down forever by this unimaginable human tragedy and Reeva’s family has suffered a terrible loss.

“As a family, we are trying to be strong and supportive to Oscar as any close family would be in these dreadful circumstances.”