Pistorius back in court shortly

Prosecutors in South Africa are pushing for Oscar Pistorius to appear in court as soon as possible so a date can be set for his sentencing, after the country’s top appeal court returned a murder verdict.

The Olympic runner must appear at North Gauteng High Court “as a matter of extreme urgency”, and the court will determine any bail amount at that time, said Luvuyo Mfaku, spokesman for the National Prosecuting Authority.

The Pistorius family has said its legal team will advise on legal options following the murder conviction against Pistorius, who shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court of Appeal overturned a lower court’s manslaughter conviction. Pistorius spent one year of a five-year sentence in jail for the lesser offence and then was put under house arrest at his uncle’s mansion in Pretoria in October.

Pistorius shot Steenkamp through the door of a toilet cubicle at his home on Valentine’s Day 2013. Prosecutors said he killed her after an argument. Pistorius said he killed her by mistake, thinking she was an intruder.