Share

Pistorius refuses to take responsibility - Nel

Pretoria - Murder-accused Oscar Pistorius does not take responsibility for his actions and is always the victim, the State argued in the North Gauteng High Court on Thursday.

"It became clear that the accused is incapable of taking any responsibility," prosecutor Gerrie Nel said in his closing arguments.

Pistorius "refused to take any responsibility for his actions" and was always the victim.

"He always places the blame for his actions somewhere else."

Closing arguments

Pistorius is charged with the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year.

He shot her dead through the locked door of his toilet at his Pretoria home.

Pistorius has denied guilt, saying he thought she was an intruder about to open the door and attack him. The State contends he shot her during an argument.

Nel started his closing arguments saying the State received the defence's arguments only after it filed its own.

The State filed its final arguments on 30 July, and the defence on Monday.

Nel said he wanted to set the tone and quoted one of his favourite quotes.

"I was thinking that a criminal trial is a very blunt instrument for getting to the truth," Nel quoted.

Two defences

He said the defence indicated that it had two defences for the trial but Nel said this was not the norm.

"It's not two normal defences," he said.

The defences presented by the defence were that Pistorius did not have criminal capacity and if there was it was in self-defence, he said.

"It's two defences that can never be reconciled," Nel said asking the court to choose one.

'Weak' performance

He said Pistorius gave a "weak performance" during cross-examination and his version should be rejected.

"If one rejects his version of what happened that night then there was no perceived intrusion," Nel said.

He said Steenkamp locked herself in the toilet cubicle at 03:00 in the morning with her cellphone and she was fully dressed.

It was not as if she just used the bathroom and was getting dressed, he said.

Pistorius fired four shots with a "powerful handgun" with black tallon ammunition, of which three hit Steenkamp, Nel said.

"There were only two people in the house, one was killed. And one survived."

Onus

Nel said he knew there would be an argument that there was no onus on Pistorius, but the State would deal with that.

Pistorius is also charged with three contraventions of the Firearms Control Act, one of illegal possession of ammunition and two of discharging a firearm in public. He has pleaded not guilty to these charges as well.

Nel said the athlete's discharging of a firearm in Tasha's restaurant was a "blatant disregard of the law".

The trial continues.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Do you think Minister Blade Nzimande made the right call to dissolve the NSFAS board?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes, NSFAS mismanagement is costing students
34% - 464 votes
No, it's suspicious given that he's implicated
66% - 889 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
19.04
-0.3%
Rand - Pound
23.66
-0.2%
Rand - Euro
20.22
-0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.19
+0.2%
Rand - Yen
0.12
-0.0%
Platinum
972.90
-0.3%
Palladium
1,021.00
-0.2%
Gold
2,389.34
+0.3%
Silver
28.19
-2.3%
Brent Crude
90.10
-0.4%
Top 40
66,902
-2.2%
All Share
73,000
-2.1%
Resource 10
61,638
-3.6%
Industrial 25
98,321
-1.9%
Financial 15
15,650
-1.1%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE