Govt fails to protect whites - Oscar's dad
2013-03-05 07:47
Johannesburg - The family of murder-accused paralympian
Oscar Pistorius has claimed it needs guns because the ANC government fails to
protect white people, it was reported on Tuesday.
The athlete's father Henke Pistorius told British newspaper
The Daily Mirror that his family could not rely on the police for protection
and owned guns for their own safety.
"Some of the guns are for hunting and some are for
protection, the handguns. It speaks to the ANC government, look at white crime
levels, why protection is so poor in this country, it's an aspect of our
society," Pistorius snr was quoted saying.
Crime is rife
"You can't rely on the police, not because they are inefficient
always, but because crime is so rife."
He added that he has never had to use a gun in self-defence,
but said: "That doesn't mean I haven't been hijacked, attacked. As a
family, we value life much too much to produce guns at every opportunity we can
use them.
"I have been in positions where I can use a gun but we
have been brought up in a way that we value the lives of others very highly,"
Pistorius snr said.
Records show that six members of the Pistorius family,
including Oscar, own 56 guns.
Pistorius faces a murder charge after shooting dead his
model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine's Day.
He was granted bail of R1m by the Pretoria Magistrate's
Court last month. His next court appearance is on 4 June.
Steenkamp was cremated in a private ceremony in Port
Elizabeth on 19 February.
- SAPA
