Reeva Steenkamp's father 'will give evidence for first time next week in bid to make sure Oscar Pistorius is jailed for life for her murder'

Sentenced: Oscar Pistorius was convicted of the murder of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, pictured

The father of murdered model Reeva Steenkamp is set to give evidence for the first time a bid to make sure Oscar Pistorius is handed a lengthy jail sentence, it has been reported.

Barry Steenkamp will reportedly tell the court about how he suffered following his daughter's death as a judge prepares to sentence Pistorius, 29, for murder.

The double-amputee killed Miss Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine's Day 2013, saying he mistook her for an intruder when he fired four times through the door of his bedroom toilet.

The Paralympic athlete has been on bail since December when the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) found him guilty of murder after overturning his earlier conviction on the lesser charge of culpable homicide.

His lawyers tried to appeal the upgraded conviction but were dismissed in March. 

Pistorius will now be sentenced for murder, which carries mandatory life sentence with a minimum of 15 years.

According to the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Steenkamp will take the stand at one of the pre-sentence hearings at the High Court in Pretoria this week, to support the prosecution's case.

It is understood he will thank his supporters and say goodbye to his daughter. 'He is very fragile but he wants to do it,' a source said. If he can, it will be very powerful and emotional testimony.'

Pistorius was released from jail last October to live under house arrest at his uncle's mansion in Pretoria after serving one year of his five-year sentence for culpable homicide.

Since being convicted of murder, he has been on bail and allowed to leave the house at set times.

Devastated: Reeva's father Barry Steenkamp, pictured, will reportedly take the stand for the first time

Pistorius's jail sentence could be reduced due to time already spent in prison and mitigating factors, including his disability.

'He has served one year in prison and has been effectively on probation or correctional supervision,' Stephan Terblanche, a law professor at the University of South Africa, told AFP.

'But exactly how that is going to be taken into account by the court is difficult to predict.'

The case is scheduled to last until Friday, though the sentence could be handed down earlier.

A lawyer close to the case said: 'We are expecting that there will be evidence presented by both sides over three days and the judge may come back to deliver sentence on Friday.' 

Jail time: Pistorius, pictured at a bail hearing in 2013, was released from jail last October to live under house arrest at his uncle's mansion in Pretoria after serving one year of his five-year sentence for culpable homicide

The double-amputee (left at the Paralympics) killed Miss Steenkamp (right) in the early hours of Valentine's Day 2013, saying he mistook her for an intruder when he fired four times through the door of his bedroom toilet

He has always denied killing Steenkamp in a rage and, during his dramatic trial in 2014, sobbed in the dock as details of his lover's death were examined in excruciating detail.

'I was overcome with fear,' Pistorius told the trial. 'Before I knew it, I'd fired four shots at the door.' 

In December, appeal judges described his testimony at his trial as 'untruthful' and delivered a damning indictment of the original verdict.

Pistorius has shunned the media during years of intense coverage since Steenkamp's killing, but his family revealed on Friday that he had given his first interview to a British broadcaster.

His uncle Arnold said that the interview, which will be aired on ITV on June 24, will 'provide our family with a voice to address some of the misconceptions that have remained unchallenged.'