Anti-abuse group in Reeva Steenkamp's name

An anti-abuse organisation is being launched in South Africa in memory of Reeva Steenkamp, who was killed by her athlete boyfriend Oscar Pistorius.

June Steenkamp, whose daughter Reeva was killed by her South African athlete boyfriend Oscar Pistorius, says she is launching an anti-abuse organisation in her daughter's memory.

A year after publishing her memoir "Reeva: A Mother's Story", Steenkamp said on Tuesday that the foundation would be her way of keeping her daughter's legacy alive.

Pistorius shot Reeva Steenkamp at his upmarket home outside Pretoria on Valentine's Day 2013, saying he mistakenly believed she was an intruder.

The 28-year-old athlete is currently serving a five-year prison sentence for manslaughter after he was found not guilty of murder last year.

The Reeva Rebecca Steenkamp Foundation will be based in the slain model's hometown of Port Elizabeth, in South Africa's Eastern Cape province, and will assist women and children across the country.

The 29-year-old Reeva, also a law graduate, was a passionate activist against gender-based violence, her mother said.

Steenkamp said preparations for the organisation were now in the "final stages" and had already received funding offers locally and abroad.

"I don't want to forget Reeva and what she stood for," she told journalists.

While Pistorius was still on trial, Steenkamp said her daughter was becoming "invisible" by being referred to merely as the "deceased".

"My daughter died, horrendously," she said.

The state is set to appeal Pistorius' conviction and what it called his "shockingly light" sentence.

But his lawyers will be back in court on Friday to challenge the state's right to do so.

They argue that his conviction was based on facts presented during the trial, not on an interpretation of law, and therefore cannot be appealed.

Steenkamp refused to be drawn on the impending appeal, saying "everything was now in the hands of the law".

But she added she would like meet Pistorius to ask him to consider what he did to the Steenkamp family by killing their daughter.

"He's taken her life, her career, she had a law degree. She will never have a granddaughter for us. She will never have a wedding and a white dress."


Share
2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP

Tags

Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world
Anti-abuse group in Reeva Steenkamp's name | SBS News