"Has there been justice for Reeva?
"Has Oscar served enough time?"
These are the painful rhetorical questions June Steenkamp - also on behalf of her late husband, Barry - asks in a solemn media release issued on the morning of convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius's release on parole.
The department of correctional services on Friday morning confirmed that the disgraced former Paralympian had been released and was back at his uncle's home in Waterkloof in Pretoria, after almost 11 years after he shot and killed Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day in 2013.
June describes 14 February 2013 as "the day life changed forever".
"It's the day South Africa lost its hero, Oscar Pistorius, and the day that Barry and I lost our precious daughter, Reeva, at Oscar's hands," she says in the statement.
The distraught mother said "the pain is still raw and real, and my dear late husband and I have never been able to come to terms with Reeva's death - or the way she died".
But she says they've always known that parole is part of the South African legal system.
"Oscar Pistorius's release on parole, subject to certain conditions, has affirmed Barry and my belief in the South African justice system. The conditions imposed by the parole board, which include anger management courses and programs on gender-based violence, send out a clear message that gender-based violence is taken seriously."
June continues: "With the release of Oscar Pistorius on parole, my only desire is that I will be allowed to live my last years in peace with my focus remaining on the Reeva Rebecca Steenkamp Foundation, to continue Reeva's legacy."
"There can never be justice if your loved one is never coming back, and no amount of time served will bring Reeva back.
"We, who remain behind, are the ones serving a life sentence."
