Oscar Pistorius has finished his gruelling five day testimony on the witness stand, reading a poem from a Valentines Day card his former girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp had prepared for him the day she was killed.
BOOM. Welcome to Nel town. Source: Getty Images
IT'S the legal equivalent of a bout between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. Two talented, brutal attorneys at the peak of their powers, fighting each other for the heavyweight title before an audience of millions.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel and defence lawyer Barry Roux are the men driving Oscar Pistorius's murder trial. They're two of the most feared lawyers in South Africa, having built successful careers in parallel over the past three decades.
MORE: Reeva's Valentine's Day card to Oscar
Nel has been prosecuting alleged criminals for more than 30 years. Roux has been defending them for 31. Both men have drawn upon that experience to eviscerate witnesses in the Pistorius case.
MORE: Pistorius accused of faking tears
So, how do South Africa's heavyweight lawyers stack up against each other? Are they really so evenly matched?
That's Nel on the left, and Roux on the right. Source: AP
GERRIE NEL
History
The biggest triumph of Nel's career was his successful prosecution of former police chief and Interpol president Jackie Selebi.
It was a confronting case for South Africans, who were forced to admit the man leading their nation's fight against crime was a criminal himself. Selebi was convicted of corruption (he overlooked drug trafficking in return for bribes), and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
The Selebi case was a trial in more ways than one for Nel. In January of 2008, 20 police officers stormed into the lawyer's home and arrested him, in front of his wife and children, for "fraud". The charge turned out to be nonsense. It was an intimidation tactic, meant to disrupt his investigation into Selebi.
Nel refused to back down. That sums up the man pretty well.
He also served as the head of an official crime-fighting agency whose operatives were called "The Scorpions". They investigated organised crime and corruption between 2001 and 2008.
Within three years of being founded, The Scorpions had prosecuted 380 cases with a conviction rate of 93 per cent, the Mirror reports. They even raided the home of South Africa's then-Deputy President Jacob Zuma.
You get the idea. Nel has been a determined, wildly successful prosecutor for years.
He cross-examines like a street-fighter. Source: Getty Images
Style
Within the legal community, Nel is known as "the pit bull". That's because he cross-examines witnesses with unrivalled aggression.
"He likes to rattle witnesses. To emotionally rattle them to see if he can get them to give him contradicting versions. That is his style," says South African defence attorney Ulrich Roux.
"He's definitely the best prosecutor in South Africa. He's proved that, and I think he will continue to prove that."
Nel's relentless and confrontational style was best demonstrated in the Selebi trial. He called the former Interpol president an "arrogant liar", and kept him on the stand for two weeks.
He's not scared of controversy either. A week ago, he shocked onlookers in court by displaying a graphic image of Reeva Steenkamp's fatal head wound and comparing it to a watermelon, with Oscar Pistorius on the stand.
It was a ruthless tactic, but according to Nel, it was absolutely necessary.
Raise your hand if you're a tough prosecutor. Source: Getty Images
Best moment so far
Nel's five-day cross-examination of Pistorius could end up being decisive. He forced the athlete to contradict his own testimony several times (Pistorius claimed those "mistakes" were due to tiredness), and more than once reduced him to an emotional wreck.
The most telling moment came when Nel pointed out Steenkamp's position behind the toilet door. She was standing up against the door, facing it, when Pistorius shot her. Nel used that evidence to suggest the pair were talking to each other before Pistorius pulled the trigger.
Best parody
Brad O'Regan, a producer for the South African radio station Highveld 94.7, put together this rap tribute to Nel.
"They call me Gerrie Nel, and I am mad as hell, and when I get you on the stand I will make you tell. I don't have no feelings, new lies I'm revealing, I get emotions in the court to hit the ceiling."
It's undeniably catchy.
BARRY ROUX
History
Roux does not focus solely on criminal law. His practice also deals with "insurance, delictual, aviation, matrimonial, medical negligence, general contractual and liquidation work". But he has still featured in some of South Africa's biggest criminal trials, with great success.
Roux represented Scottish businessman Dave King, who was facing a long stint in jail for avoiding a tax bill of 2.3 billion rand. After a marathon 13-year run through the courts, Roux managed to reduce his punishment to a fine of just 700 million rand. King avoided jail altogether.
Another of Roux's high profile tax evasion cases involved a mining magnate called Roger Kebble. The charges in that case were withdrawn altogether.
He never ran a group called The Scorpions, but Roux's career has been just as successful as Nel's. His rumoured salary of up to $A10,000 per day for defending Pistorius is proof enough of that.
Give 'em both barrels, Barry. Source: Getty Images
Style
Roux can be a patronising, exasperated presence in the courtroom. He picks away at witnesses, asking them the same questions repeatedly until they slip up. His style often switches in an instant, from charming and absent-minded to biting and sarcastic.
Daily Mirror writer Lucy Thornton has described Roux as a lawyer who "goes from bumbling poodle to snarling rottweiler in seconds, terrifying witnesses."
His tactics can be devastatingly effective. Roux lulls witnesses into a false sense of security before unleashing direct, piercing questions that prey upon their emotions and reduce them to a state of utter confusion.
Barry gives Oscar some firm legal advice. Source: Getty Images
Best moment so far
Roux's biggest courtroom masterclass actually came during Pistorius's bail hearing, just six days after Steenkamp's death. He completely destroyed the credibility of police detective Hilton Botha, an officer with 24 years of experience.
Botha started the day firmly in the prosecution's corner. By the time Roux was through with him, the detective had conceded that he found nothing at the scene which contradicted Pistorius's version of events.
"I don't have any facts," he admitted at one point.
Nel didn't dare call Botha to the stand during the actual trial. Roux had turned him into a liability, if not a running joke. How's that for a knockout punch?
Best parody
This one comes courtesy of Roger Goode, who hosts a radio show on 5FM. It's a parody of Pharrell's hit Happy. The chorus will be stuck in your head for days.
HEAD TO HEAD
Nel and Roux have clashed in a high profile murder case before. The defendants in that trial were two men called Casper Greeff and Christopher Njeje.
Greeff was accused of hiring Njeje to kill his wife, Estelle, in 1999. Njeje proceeded to cut her throat with a blunt knife.
Nel won the case. Both Greeff and Njeje were found guilty of murder with direct intent and sentenced to life in prison.
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