Valentine's Day killer Oscar Pistorius is driving a tractor on his prison’s farm to help feed needy schoolkids as he hopes to win over a parole board.
The disgraced Paralympic sprinter, known as the Blade Runner, shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp dead at his home in Pretoria, South Africa, 10 years ago tomorrow and will soon make a bid to be released.
And as Reeva’s parents prepared to mark the anniversary of the 29-year-old’s death with a ceremony at the beach where they scattered her ashes, the Mirror was given exclusive details of Pistorius’s life in Atteridgeville prison – a low-security site that has been described as “comfy”.
One jail source said: “Pistorius remains muscular and fit.
“He has been seen driving a red tractor in fields around the prison, being trained to plough a straight furrow.
“The produce of the agriculture, including cauliflower, is then sold to help feed poverty-stricken schoolchildren.”
One official who saw Pistorius, 36, recently said he was a model inmate but added: “You can never tell if a prisoner is just putting on an act until he is released.
“Much depends on how much he’s been concealing his true feelings and whether he has worked through them.”
If released next month, Pistorius – who had both legs amputated under the knee as a baby – will have served eight years of a 15-year sentence for model Reeva’s murder.
The official said the system favours the offender, explaining: “The parole board doesn’t have much communication with victims’ families, while staff focus on building a relationship with the prisoner.”
If his bid fails, Pistorius – previously held at the Kgosi Mampuru II jail – will move to another site as Atteridgeville, near Pretoria, is becoming a women-only prison.
Meanwhile, Reeva’s parents, Barry and June, will join other family and close friends today to remember her.
They plan to mix some of her ashes with those of a close family friend who died late last year, then cast them into the sea and sing her favourite songs.
