Shropshire charity boss: My friend Oscar Pistorius should not be in jail
A Shropshire charity boss and close friend of Oscar Pistorius has spoken for the first time about the heart-breaking conversations he had with the former Paralympian.
Mike Kendrick, who runs the Mineseekers Foundation, based in Bobbington, near Bridgnorth, said the South African should not have been sent to jail.
Mr Kendrick came to know Pistorius personally thanks to his work for the foundation, which he set up 12 years ago to help landmine victims across the world.
The athlete had volunteered his services for several years to help promote the charity and even stayed at Mr Kendrick's house as a guest.
Pistorius was given a five-year jail sentence earlier this week for the culpable homicide of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
Mr Kendrick, who lives in Bridgnorth, said the "sad and depressed" person he spoke to on the phone was not the same person he remembered working with.
But the 68-year-old, who himself is currently battling two forms of cancer, revealed that his friend was always more concerned with Mr Kendrick's health rather than his own trial. He said: "It is obvious he is a different Oscar Pistorius to the person I recognised, who won all those gold medals.
"A custodial sentence was inevitable but I never thought he meant to murder his Reeva premeditatedly.
"It was just not him and not the humble person I knew who had stayed at my house in Bridgnorth.
"He was a very kind and softly spoken man. I never saw the angry young man with a scary temper talked about during the trial."
Mr Kendrick said there had been many accidents and incidents involving firearms in South Africa – a country thhat he visited regularly to help landmine victims, because gun crime was so rife.
He said he was asked to write to the court about the case and suggested community service would be a better sentence for all involved.
He said: "There's a culture of violence over there and when people break in they are not just stealing stuff from you, they will hurt you.
"They would have been better putting Oscar to work helping amputees and landmine victims.
"He did a great deal for charity and his athletic achievements should not be diminished in any way.
"I believe that it would have been a better legacy for the Steenkamp family if Oscar was seen to be helping amputees.
"It was a serious crime and there was no doubt he killed Reeva but this is a society where there is a prolific carriage of guns."
Mr Kendrick, who is battling lymphoma and prostate cancer, said each time he phoned Pistorius the athlete would ask about his health.
"Oscar would say he was praying for me and I would always have to bring the conversation back to his case," he said.
"He was a very compassionate person and I know how badly this has affected him.
"I go to South Africa all the time and see a lot of people in desperate situations who are a lot worse off than I am. I feel the mine victims could have benefited from speaking to an amputee like Oscar."