Selective Memory

The main thing I have taken away from the Oscar Pistorius trial is that the accused man has a very selective memory when it suits him - sometime he recalls events in the most minute detail, but on other occasions his mind goes completely blank, or so he says.

The first example that spring to mind is the incident when Pistorius was driving along the motorway at night all alone when suddenly, out of the blue and apropos nothing at all, a black Mercedes car swerved in front of him and someone allegedly shot out of a window at Oscar's car.  

Now Oscar's says that he pulled off the motorway at the next exit and set off again in a different direction in case the black Mercedes was following him, before stopping in a shopping mall area, outside a nightclub cum bar (Rhapsody's), where he phoned a friend to come and collect him because he was so shaken up.

But he told the court and state prosecutor Gerrie Nel that he couldn't remember the identity of the friend who came to his aid even though he didn't drive his own vehicle home that night, but went to collect it some time later.

Now if you ask me, Oscar's sort is preposterous because I simply don't believe that a person can recall all kinds of detail about the alleged shooting incident, yet be unable to remember who is supposed to have picked him up that night - because there can't have been too many good friends he could possibly have phoned to start with. 

So the story seems fabricated to me and had the effect of calling into question his credibility as a truthful and honest witness.

Likewise with another incident in a restaurant when a gun mysteriously went off while in Oscar's hands, but he claims he didn't have his finger on the trigger despite evidence from a firearms expert that it would have taken a 'miracle' for the weapon to be fired in any other way.

The other incident that stuck in my mind was the one when Oscar fired his own hand gun out of the sunroof of a car with a former girlfriend and male friend giving evidence to that effect, yet Pistorius said they were both lying although without offering any reason as to why  two of his friends would act in this way.

And that's without going into the detail of why Oscar suddenly couldn't remember the password for his mobile phone because everyone who uses a mobile phone on a daily basis has an unforgettable number or name to ensure they can't get locked out, even if they have to write it down somewhere safe, like me.

So I have no doubt that Oscar would be convicted or murder even without hearing all the evidence because what it comes down to is did Pistorius have a reasonable belief that his life and safety were in imminent danger when he fired four shots from a powerful hand gun through a locked toilet door?

And the answer to that question, if you ask me, is No.