Funeral for Reeva Steenkamp held as Oscar Pistorius appears in court

Reeva Steenkamp, the late girlfriend of South African athlete Oscar Pistorius, was cremated in a private ceremony in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday.

More than 100 relatives and friends, including Springbok rugby player Francois Hougaard, who reportedly once dated the 29-year-old model, attended the hour-long funeral, the Guardian reported.  

After the ceremony, which was closed to the media, mourners stood outside hugging and wiping away tears, the Agence France-Presse reported.

The New York Daily News quoted some of the mourners demanding justice over the tragic Valentine’s Day shooting.

Reeva “stood against abuse against women,” her uncle, Mike Steenkamp, told reporters.

“I think the Lord knows that her statement is more powerful now.”

Steenkamp’s brother, Adam, told reporters: “There’s a space missing inside all the people that she knew that can't be filled again.

“We are going to keep all the positive things that we remember and know about my sister,” he said.

"We will miss her."

Pistorius, who has been charged with murdering Steenkamp, appeared in court for a bail hearing on Tuesday.

His defence attorneys have said the shooting was an accident, with Pistorius mistaking Steenkamp for an intruder in his Pretoria home.

The prosecution team has rejected this theory, saying Pistorius had planned to kill his girlfriend.