PRETORIA: A South African judge on Wednesday ordered that Oscar Pistorius undergo psychiatric tests to establish if he has “general anxiety disorder,” in what could be a pivotal development in his murder trial.

Judge Thokozile Masipa said a “proper inquiry” was needed to test whether the sprinter had a disorder that meant he was not fully responsible for his actions in shooting his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp last year.

The prosecution had asked Masipa to have Pistorius committed, after defense psychiatrist Meryll Vorster claimed deep-seated anxiety stemming from the early amputation of Pistorius’s legs gave him a heightened fear of crime.

During two months of trial, Pistorius’s lawyers have sought to portray him as manically obsessed with safety after a difficult childhood in which his fearful mother abused alcohol and in the face of high crime levels in South Africa.

Those factors, they argue, help explain his reaction on Valentine’s Day last year when he allegedly believed his girlfriend to be an intruder and shot her dead through a locked toilet door.

“The accused may not have raised the issue that he was not criminally responsible at the time of the incident in so many words, but evidence led on his behalf clearly raises the issue and cannot be ignored,” Masipa said giving her ruling.



“Mental illness or mental defect are morbid disorders... not capable of being diagnosed by a lay court.”

Masipa said a detailed ruling will be issued next Tuesday, when the court will reconvene, but indicated she may be amenable to a proposal for Pistorius to be treated as an outpatient.

The tests were not meant as punishment, she said, adding that she was unconcerned by any delay caused as long as it was in the interest of justice.

After Masipa gave her judgment, 27-year-old Pistorius clenched his jaw and pressed his lips together, before going over to consult with his legal team.