By Shu’eib Hassen

PRETORIA, South Africa

South Africa’s Constitutional Court denied star athlete Oscar Pistorius’ application to appeal his 2013 conviction for the murder of his supermodel girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp Thursday.

The athlete’s lawyers argued that the Supreme Court of Appeal wrongly upgraded his conviction. However, the Constitutional Court refused the application due to what it termed as low probability of success if an appeal was granted.

“One cannot appeal based on all of the same facts,” National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Advocate Luvuyo Mfaku told media about the court's decision Thursday afternoon.

Mfaku said: “We received a letter from the Concourt [Constitutional Court] that Pistorius has been denied to appeal and we welcome that decision”.

Pistorius is expected to receive the maximum penalty for his crime on April 18, when his formal sentencing will be announced. He faces 15 years imprisonment in the murder case.

Steenkamp’s parents’ informed local news channel ENCA in response to the new update on the case that “the law must take its course”.

In early December 2014, Pistorius was found guilty for culpable homicide of Steenkamp in the Pretoria High Court.

The country was shocked when the sporting icon shot dead Steenkamp when he allegedly misidentified her for a burglar inside his house on Valentine’s Day in 2013.

Pistorius lost all his sponsorship and product endorsements since the court saga began.