{"id":63573,"date":"2017-01-31T14:25:23","date_gmt":"2017-01-31T13:25:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/?p=63573"},"modified":"2023-01-01T04:16:14","modified_gmt":"2023-01-01T03:16:14","slug":"gerrie-nel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/gerrie-nel\/","title":{"rendered":"Gerrie Nel Biography and Quick Facts Behind His Resignation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Gerrie Nel (born 1961, Age: 63 years old) is a South African legal practitioner known for his tenacity in the courtroom for which he was given the nickname &#8220;Bulldog&#8221;. He is also known for being assigned to tough cases involving high-profile individuals.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In January 2017, Advocate Gerrie Nel resigned his position as a prosecutor for the National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa after handing in a 24-hour notice of his resignation. Upon learning that the State prosecutor who jailed Oscar Pistorius and former national police commissioner Jackie Selebi had quit, South Africans were left reeling, with many describing his resignation as disheartening.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Described as a &#8216;consummate professional&#8217;, NPA spokesperson Luvuyo Mfaku said the association didn&#8217;t know why Gerrie left, but believes he might have left to pursue other interests. Find out more about the advocate below.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Summary of Gerrie Nel&#8217;s Biography<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Full name: <\/b>Gerhard C. Nel<\/li>\n<li><b>Nickname: <\/b>Gerrie, Bulldog<\/li>\n<li><b>Gender: <\/b>Male<\/li>\n<li><b>Date of birth: <\/b>(born 1961)<\/li>\n<li><b>Gerrie Nel&#8217;s Age: <\/b>63 years old<\/li>\n<li><b>Ethnicity: <\/b>White<\/li>\n<li><b>Nationality: <\/b>South African<\/li>\n<li><b>Sexual Orientation: <\/b>Straight<\/li>\n<li><b>Marital Status: <\/b>Married<\/li>\n<li><b>Famous for:<\/b> His tenacity in the courtroom<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Gerrie Nel&#8217;s Background<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Although he is a very popular figure in his country as a result of his job as an advocate, nothing is known about Gerrie Nel&#8217;s family background. Some sources have it that he was born in 1961 in the Limpopo province in South Africa, but other than that, nothing else has been disclosed about his early days as well as his birth family. As such, information regarding his parents, childhood, sibling (if any), among other background details, are not known.<\/p>\n<p>Details of Nel&#8217;s basic education are also unknown, but it is common knowledge that he studied law in Pretoria after he matriculated from Ho\u00ebrskool Piet Potgieter in Potgietersrus, Limpopo province, in 1979.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In 1984, he kicked off his career as a prosecutor. He was a junior prosecutor in the trial of Clive Derby-Lewis and Janusz Walu\u015b, who were both convicted of killing SACP former leader, Chris Hani.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Motive Behind His Resignation<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">While the country, especially those in the legal field were struggling to unravel the reason behind Nel&#8217;s resignation, reliable sources revealed that he left to head an incipient investigative unit at AfriForum.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The aim of the move, as gathered, was to look into matters which the NPA declined to prosecute. This decision got people talking on social media, with many condemning the move. Others expressed shock, questioning if AfriForum was &#8216;actually&#8217; a civil right organisation, as claimed.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Poet and activist Ntsiki Mazwai tweeted that the organisation was more of a platform for &#8216;racists&#8217;, adding that &#8216;whites will never change&#8217;. South African top investigative journalist, Adriaan Basson simply described it as a &#8216;sad day&#8217;.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Sad, sad day to see a dedicated, well-loved prosecutor like <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/GerrieNel?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#GerrieNel<\/a> quit the NPA to join a divisive organisation like <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/afriforum?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@afriforum<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Adriaan Basson (@AdriaanBasson) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AdriaanBasson\/status\/826341413130375169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 31, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Quick Facts About Advocate Gerrie Nel<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Gerrie Nel Is Known For His Tenacity In The Courtroom<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-63597 img-100 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nel.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"498\" srcset=\"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nel.jpg 750w, https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nel-260x173.jpg 260w, https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nel-85x56.jpg 85w, https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nel-235x156.jpg 235w, https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nel-706x469.jpg 706w, https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nel-273x181.jpg 273w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The advocate&#8217;s\u00a0doggedness, tenaciousness, fixity of purpose, bulldog spirit, tirelessness, indefatigability, resoluteness, firmness, patience, purposefulness and staunchness in the courtroom earned him the nickname &#8211; the &#8216;Bull Dog of the NPA&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Once he grips a case, he holds it firmly until justice is served to the letter.\u00a0He is merciless, comes extremely prepared and does not overlook the tiniest detail.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>He&#8217;s Notable For Handling High-Level Cases<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">With more than 30 years&#8217; of experience, Nel had a string of successful prosecutions under his belt and was no stranger to high-profile cases.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">He was the chief prosecutor in the State\u2019s murder case against former Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius and former police commissioner the late Jackie Selebi, who was convicted of corruption in 2010, among others.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">His trademark no-nonsense style of questioning won him legions of fans. Sadly, his resignation came at a time he was busy with the murder case of flying squad member Edward Kennedy Fox who is accused of murdering his wife as she slept at their Vereeniging home three years ago.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Nel Was Former Head of Gauteng Scorpion<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-63600 img-100 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nel-7.jpg\" alt=\"nel 7\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nel-7.jpg 600w, https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nel-7-260x195.jpg 260w, https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nel-7-85x64.jpg 85w, https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nel-7-235x176.jpg 235w, https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nel-7-241x181.jpg 241w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Gerrie Nel was the founding head of the Gauteng province division of South Africa&#8217;s elite police and prosecution unit the Hawks, then known as the Scorpions. The Scorpions was founded in 1999. He led the Scorpions&#8217; Operation Bad Guys investigation into Selebi and the late mining magnate Brett Kebble.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Was Once Caught In Fraud Allegation<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-63599 img-100 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nel-in-w.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"351\" srcset=\"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nel-in-w.jpg 624w, https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nel-in-w-260x146.jpg 260w, https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nel-in-w-85x48.jpg 85w, https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nel-in-w-235x132.jpg 235w, https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nel-in-w-310x174.jpg 310w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In 2008 Nel was arrested on trumped-up fraud charges while pursuing former police commissioner Selebi. He even spent a night in the police cells.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, it later emerged that suspended deputy NPA head, Nomgcobo Jiba, was instrumental in securing an arrest warrant against him. Reports had it that Nel\u00a0had something of a long-running enmity with Jiba.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Received Many Awards as State Prosecutor<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">During his 35-year career\u201a the reputable advocate won many awards including the Society of State Advocates&#8217; Prosecutor of the Year in 2012 and the International Association of Prosecutors (IAP) Special Achievement Award.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>He Is a Wrestling Teacher<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Local Media Outlet Rapport once reported that the advocate teaches children wrestling in his spare time. The lesson usually takes place in the evenings.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">&#8220;He has endless patience and never loses his temper. The children love him,&#8221; a parent once told Rapport. Meanwhile, the man once competed in wrestling at a provincial level.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Certainly, Gerrie Nel once described as &#8220;one of South Africa&#8217;s most respected legal minds&#8221; by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) will be greatly missed in the State Prosecution squad.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gerrie Nel (born 1961, Age: years old) is a South African legal practitioner known for his tenacity in the courtroom for which he was given the nickname &#8220;Bulldog&#8221;. He is also known for being assigned to tough cases involving high-profile individuals.\u00a0 In January 2017, Advocate Gerrie Nel resigned his position as a prosecutor for the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":63601,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[442],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Gerrie Nel Biography and Quick Facts Behind His Resignation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gerrie Nel is a South African legal practitioner known for his tenacity in the courtroom for which he was given the nickname &quot;Bulldog&quot;.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/gerrie-nel\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gerrie Nel Biography and Quick Facts Behind His Resignation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gerrie Nel is a South African legal practitioner known for his tenacity in the courtroom for which he was given the nickname &quot;Bulldog&quot;.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/gerrie-nel\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"BuzzSouthAfrica.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BuzzSouthAfrica\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-01-31T13:25:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-01-01T03:16:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nel-nel.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"624\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Osondu Queen Chidinma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@buzzsouthafrica\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@buzzsouthafrica\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Osondu Queen Chidinma\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/gerrie-nel\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/gerrie-nel\/\",\"name\":\"Gerrie Nel Biography and Quick Facts Behind His Resignation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-01-31T13:25:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-01T03:16:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/41ddb967dc7d610275efca78530eff99\"},\"description\":\"Gerrie Nel is a South African legal practitioner known for his tenacity in the courtroom for which he was given the nickname \\\"Bulldog\\\".\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/gerrie-nel\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/gerrie-nel\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/gerrie-nel\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Gerrie Nel Biography and Quick Facts Behind His Resignation\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/\",\"name\":\"BuzzSouthAfrica.com\",\"description\":\"BuzzSouthAfrica\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/41ddb967dc7d610275efca78530eff99\",\"name\":\"Osondu Queen Chidinma\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/q_icon-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/q_icon-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Osondu Queen Chidinma\"},\"description\":\"Queen always has the inside scoop on the lives of your famous celebrities, she is the go-to source when it comes to everything Hollywood and South African entertainment industry, an entertainer and a true queen in her own special way.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/author\/queen-chidinma\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Gerrie Nel Biography and Quick Facts Behind His Resignation","description":"Gerrie Nel is a South African legal practitioner known for his tenacity in the courtroom for which he was given the nickname \"Bulldog\".","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/gerrie-nel\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Gerrie Nel Biography and Quick Facts Behind His Resignation","og_description":"Gerrie Nel is a South African legal practitioner known for his tenacity in the courtroom for which he was given the nickname \"Bulldog\".","og_url":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/gerrie-nel\/","og_site_name":"BuzzSouthAfrica.com","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BuzzSouthAfrica\/","article_published_time":"2017-01-31T13:25:23+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-01-01T03:16:14+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":624,"url":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nel-nel.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Osondu Queen Chidinma","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@buzzsouthafrica","twitter_site":"@buzzsouthafrica","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Osondu Queen Chidinma","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/gerrie-nel\/","url":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/gerrie-nel\/","name":"Gerrie Nel Biography and Quick Facts Behind His Resignation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-01-31T13:25:23+00:00","dateModified":"2023-01-01T03:16:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/41ddb967dc7d610275efca78530eff99"},"description":"Gerrie Nel is a South African legal practitioner known for his tenacity in the courtroom for which he was given the nickname \"Bulldog\".","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/gerrie-nel\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/gerrie-nel\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/gerrie-nel\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Gerrie Nel Biography and Quick Facts Behind His Resignation"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/","name":"BuzzSouthAfrica.com","description":"BuzzSouthAfrica","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/41ddb967dc7d610275efca78530eff99","name":"Osondu Queen Chidinma","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/q_icon-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/q_icon-96x96.png","caption":"Osondu Queen Chidinma"},"description":"Queen always has the inside scoop on the lives of your famous celebrities, she is the go-to source when it comes to everything Hollywood and South African entertainment industry, an entertainer and a true queen in her own special way.","url":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/author\/queen-chidinma\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nel-nel.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3B4tc-gxn","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63573"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63573\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}