Oscar house party pair say sorry
The two men currently renting Oscar Pistorius's former house have apologised for the "bizarre" video they made.
|||Pretoria - “We want to apologise to the public, especially the Steenkamp and Pistorius families. The video was not funny.”
In an unexpected turn of events, the two businessmen behind the video of the former house of Oscar Pistorius at Silverwoods Country Estate in Pretoria say they’re sorry.
The video has been watched over 15 000 times on YouTube, with thousands more views on various news websites.
The business partners, Kagiso Mokoape and David Scott, received a severe backlash and media attention after the video went viral.
It was labelled by the Pistorius family as “bizarre”.
But the pair changed their tune on Tuesday. “There was a misunderstanding. It was a mistake. It was not meant to happen that way. We apologise to anyone who was offended by the video,” Mokoape said, cutting a sombre figure in an exclusive interview with the Pretoria News.
He was also speaking on behalf of Scott, who “is not doing any media interviews at the moment”.
Mokoape, a bachelor, is a tenant in the stylish house, renting it from mining consultant Louwtjie Louwrens, who bought it in August for R4.5 million. Louwrens said he planned to live there once his wife had retired in two years.
Mokoape, who is on a two-year lease paying a monthly rent of R30 000, moved in last week. He acquired his wealth through partnering with Scott in a company called AgriSmart Investments, specialising in agricultural investment and farming solutions.
Prior to being sold, the double-storey house had been standing empty for more than a year.
Pistorius, who is serving a five-year jail term at Kgosi Mampuru II prison in Pretoria but is being considered for parole, was staying with his uncle Arnold in Waterkloof.
In the video, Mokoape and Scott, drinks in their hands, said they wanted to turn the home in which Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013 into a party house.
The two discussed the probability of an intruder climbing into a second-storey window to gain access to the home, as claimed by Pistorius during the trial.
They also spoke of what could have likely happened the night Steenkamp was killed, and how they wanted to invite beautiful women over and hold parties.
But Mokoape now said there were a lot of positive things that were left out of the video. This included opening it for tours, with proceeds going to a charity for abused women and children.
He said all they wanted to do was spread a positive message by saying the house would be open for the public at a fee, which then would be donated to charities. “I feel like, at the end of the day, people are still sensitive about Reeva. It wasn’t our intention to step on anyone’s toes; it was not our intention at all.”
Pretoria News