Tshwane – Veteran prosecutor Advocate Gerrie Nel on Tuesday, said that he believes that the prosecutorial team he worked with on the Oscar Pistorius matter is competent to handle the high profile case to its justifiable conclusion without him.
"As far as the Pistorius case is concerned, I am not leaving only that matter. I have been involved in a few [other] matters. I am 100 percent convinced that the juniors that worked with me, – the team I worked with – will be more than competent enough to take this matter and to ensure that justice is done," Nel told reporters at his first media briefing on Tuesday, after he joined civil rights group AfriForum.
In a prosecutorial career spanning close to 40 years, Nel has led the prosecution of a number of high profile cases, including that of Pistorius who killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in his Pretoria house in 2013. Judge Thokozile Masipa sentenced Pistorius to five years in 2014.
The State’s appeal against the sentence, seen by many as too lenient for the crime, saw the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein overturning the initial culpable homicide conviction to murder.
Masipa then sentenced Pistorius for the second time to six years. Unconvinced, Nel led the launch of an appeal application to the SCA, which begs the superior court to review the six year sentence handed to the world-famous athlete.
The appeal process is due to be heard in the SCA later this year. Nel, known for his no-nonsense approach of doing cross-examinations in court, enjoyed a stellar career and served the National Prosecuting Authority for more than 30 years.
His other celebrated cases included the prosecution of the late former police national commissioner and head of Interpol, Jackie Selebi, whom Nel nailed for corruption, and was sentenced to 15 years. He served a few months before he was released on medical parole in 2012.
Nel also led the prosecution against Clive Derby-Lewis and Janusz Walus, who were jailed for the murder of anti-apartheid struggle hero Chris Hani in 1993. On Tuesday, Nel told journalists that the decision to leave the NPA had not been easy.
"I want to make it clear that this wasn't a sudden decision. It wasn't something I decided on yesterday. There has been consultations and conversations going back a year or more, about my career and what I would want to do. When I made the decision, and decided to implement the decision – it wasn't easy. I'm a prosecutor at heart. I will always be a prosecutor," said Nel.
"It was very difficult for me, even this morning. I'm leaving behind a lifetime. Thirty-six years of prosecution is a lifetime. I did it because I wanted to. I did it because I thought I was making a difference, I thought I was acting for people without voices in prosecution."
He said he held fellow prosecutors in South Africa with very high esteem.
"Prosecutors in our country are brilliant. We have the most brilliant prosecutors in South Africa, and I'm just one of them. I just did a matter that was all over the media [the Pistorius trial] but we have an unbelievable corp of prosecutors in this country. I'm with them in my heart and will always be a prosecutor," said Nel.