Carl Pistorius’ trial for culpable homicide will not be broadcast live, the magistrate has ruled, despite an application to do so by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).
Magistrate Buks du Plessis of the Vanderbijlpark Magistrate’s Court ruled today the SABC will not be permitted to broadcast the proceedings live, stating that to televise the trial was not in the public interest.
Further, du Plessis noted the application to broadcast the trial was largely spurred by heightened public interest in the Pistorius family, stemming from the killing of model Reeva Steenkamp by paralympian star Oscar Pistorius, brother of Carl.
The magistrate did add that he may still decide to allow the reading of the judgment to be broadcast.
Photographs and videos have been permitted in breaks between the court proceedings.
Carl Pistorius’ name is trending on Twitter in South Africa, prompting a surge of comments from members of the public.
Why would SABC want to broadcast the #CarlPistorius trial?
— Quinton Mtyala (@mtyala) March 27, 2013
The SABC and eNCA want to broadcast #CarlPistorius but they fail dismally to give us the #Marikana Commission. Sdakelwa.
— Njabulo C. Bembe (@NjabuloCB) March 27, 2013
Carl Pistorius faces the charges pursuant to a road traffic accident in 2008 in which a woman was killed.
