South Africa’s constitutional court on Monday dismissed an application by former Paralympian Oscar Pistorius to appeal his 13-year sentence, saying it did not engage the court’s jurisdiction.
“The Constitutional Court has considered the application for condonation and leave to appeal. It has concluded that the application for condonation should be granted but that the application for leave to appeal should be dismissed as it does not engage this court’s jurisdiction,” the court said.
The decision to dismiss the bid was welcomed by the National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Luvuyo Mfaku.
“It has always been our contention that their application for leave to appeal has no prospects of success, hence we are pleased with the order of the Constitutional Court,” News24 quotes Mfaku.
Pistorius announced in December 2017 that he would appeal the increased sentence.
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) on 24 November set aside the six-year imprisonment sentence initially imposed on the former athlete by the Pretoria High Court last year, and replaced it with 13 years and five months.
The judges ruled that the original sentence was “shockingly lenient”.
Pistorius shot his girlfriend dead in the early hours of Valentine’s Day in 2013‚ when he fired four times through the door of his toilet. He however defended himself by saying he had mistaken her for a burglar.
He was originally convicted of culpable homicide in 2014‚ but after strong condemnation from rights groups in the country, the SCA upgraded his conviction to murder in 2015.
