Oscar Pistorius Murder Trial: Day 1 Delayed by Lack of Interpreter

The Oscar Pistorius murder trial begins in South Africa today, with the eyes of the world on the famed Paralympian, who stands accused of the premeditated murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

The trial comes just over a year after the shooting, and after an extraordinary bail hearing in which it was laid bare how much public interest there was in the case.

Preparations were made, and there was even a ruling that the case could be televised.

But there was no Afrikaans-speaking interpreter ready, and so the start was delayed:

"

Delay in court proceedings for Pistorius - trying to find an Afrikaans interpreter....you'd think they might have thought of this earlier

— Tom Steinfort (@tomsteinfort) March 3, 2014"

"

#OscaPistorius The Afrikaans interpreter had no warning that they would be used in the Pistorius trial

— Debora Patta (@Debora_Patta) March 3, 2014"

It subsequently emerged that there had been an interpreter in place, but according to Sky News' Alex Crawford, the size of the trial had given her cold feet:

"

#OscarPistorius We're told the interpreter arrived at court, saw the melee, burst into tears and said she couldnt do it

— Alex Crawford (@AlexCrawfordSky) March 3, 2014"

It's not South Africa's first problem with an interpreter—back in December an sign language interpreter at the Nelson Mandela funeral was accused of being a fake, making up gestures with his hands, and, as NBC reported, subsequently admitted to a psychiatric hospital.