Gerhard C. "Gerrie" Nel (, born 1961) is a South African advocate. Until January 2017, he was a prosecutor for the

National Prosecuting Authority The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is the agency of the South African Government responsible for state prosecutions. Under Section 179 of the South African Constitution and the National Prosecuting Authority Act of 1998, which establi ...

(NPA) of South Africa. He is nicknamed "Bulldog" for his tenacity in the courtroom, and is regularly assigned to difficult and high-profile cases.

Education and legal career

Nel

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used now ...

from Hoërskool Piet Potgieter in

Potgietersrus Mokopane, formerly known as Potgietersrus, is a town in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The town name was changed to Mokopane in 2003 in honour of a local Ma Nrebele leader, King Mghombane Gheghana, who ruled the area before being conquer ...

in the

Limpopo Limpopo () is the northernmost Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a ...

province in 1979, and studied law in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

. Nel started working as a prosecutor in 1984. He was a junior prosecutor in the trial of Clive Derby-Lewis and Janusz Waluś, who were both convicted in connection with the assassination of anti-

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

activist

Chris Hani Chris Hani (28 June 194210 April 1993; born Martin Thembisile Hani ) was a South African military commander, politician and revolutionary who served as the leader of the South African Communist Party (SACP) and chief of staff of uMkhonto we S ...

in 1993. He was the

Gauteng Gauteng ( , ; Sotho-Tswana languages, Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; or ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts f ...

Regional Head of the NPA's Directorate of Special Operations (Scorpions) business unit from its inception in 1999 until it was disbanded in 2009. Nel led the prosecution in the trial of former national police commissioner and

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...

president

Jackie Selebi Jacob "Jackie" Sello Selebi (7 March 195023 January 2015) was the National Commissioner of the South African Police Service from January 2000 to January 2008, when he was put on extended leave and charged with corruption. He was also a former pre ...

, who was convicted of corruption in 2010. In 2012 he received two awards in recognition of his work on the Selebi case. He was named Prosecutor of the Year by the local Society of State Advocates and received a Special Achievement Award from the International Association of Prosecutors for "fierce pursuit of the vision of the National Prosecuting Authority's ideals to achieve justice in society". Nel was the lead prosecutor in the 2014 trial of Oscar Pistorius for the murder of

Reeva Steenkamp Reeva Rebecca Steenkamp ( ; ; 19 August 1983 – 14 February 2013) was a South African model and paralegal. She modelled for '' FHM'' magazine and was the first face of Avon cosmetics in South Africa. Steenkamp once worked as the live roaming p ...

and several gun-related charges. In January 2017, he resigned from his position as a prosecutor at the NPA, joining

AfriForum AfriForum is a South African non-governmental organisation which mainly focuses on the interests of Afrikaners, a subgroup of the country's white population. AfriForum has been described as a "white nationalist, alt-right, and Afrikaner nation ...

with the aim of setting up a

private prosecution A private prosecution is a criminal proceeding initiated by an individual private citizen or private organisation (such as a prosecution association) instead of by a public prosecutor who represents the state. Private prosecutions are allowed in ...

s unit, which AfriForum said would operate in the interests of all South Africans.

Wrestling

Nel once competed in

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

at a provincial level. He teaches children wrestling in the evenings.

Awards

*2012 – Society of State Advocates Ukugqwesa Prosecutor of the Year Award *2012 – International Association of Prosecutors Special Achievement Award

References

External links

https://www.twitter.com/gerrienel_adv/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Nel, Gerrie 1961 births Living people 20th-century South African lawyers Afrikaner people 21st-century South African lawyers South African prosecutors