OSCAR PISTORIUS: 7 DAYS TO JUDGEMENT DAY

  In 7 days time,September 11 to be precise,the whole world will be glued on their T.V. stations as the vastly experienced,unassuming,cool-possessed Judge Thozokile Masipa pronunces a 'guilty' or 'not guilty' verdict on the disgraced South African star athlete and paralympian, Oscar Pistorius who was charged with the premeditated murder of his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
      I won't bore you up with the details of a case I have followed with a keen interest,a case which has rekindled my passion for the legal profession. The details are already in public domain. My primary concern in this blog post is what exact verdict  Judge Masipa would give.Intriguingly,legal analysts and experts have failed to agree overwhelmingly on what the verdict would be.However,one recurring decimal in the majority of the analysts and legal experts' opinions is that Oscar Pistorius would certainly spend some years behind bars,since his rash action wittingly or unwittingly dispatched Reeva to the world beyond.
    If Oscar Pistorius do get convicted,my heart really bleeds for him because I have the queasy feelings that his accounts of the events of the tragic Valentine night MAY be the gospel truth.This is why the highly experienced prosecutor,Gerrie Nel was reduced to 'more bark and little bite' as his valiant attempt to break the defence's wall was not particularly convincing.To underline his failure in this regard,Gerrie Nel's closing shot on Oscar Pistorius is that he is one of the worst witnesses he has ever come across in his decades of legal practice. This can be likened to a prolific striker who fails to score in a crucial match labelling the opposing team's defender/s as one of the most terrible defender/s he has come across in his entire playing career.
   At the tail end of the trial,Gerrie Nel told Judge Masipa that Oscar Pistorius's intention was to kill whoever is in the bathroom,whether or not the person is Reeva. As a doctoral student in Literature,I performed a semantic surgery on this statement. My finding is that Gerrie Nel was indirectly acknowledging the fact that Oscar Pistorius may truthfully not know that Reeva was in the bathroom,and may genuinely thought an intruder was there. I can bet it with my last naira that the import of Nel's statement was not lost on Judge Masipa.
  Oscar Pistorius's defence counsel, Barry Roux accused Gerrie Nel of being 'desperate to convict his client.' I agree absolutely with him,if Gerrie Nel's theatrics in court is anything to go by. Barry Roux,no doubt,polished his intimidating C.V. and gave a very good account of himself in the high-profile trial. Oscar Pistorius really got value for his depleting money by hiring Roux. However, Roux also had his low moments, and his performance was not flawless. His laying of the foundation for an appeal is,no doubt,the highest point of his achievement.
         

  One thing is certain: Oscar will be really,really tensed now. In 7 days time,he will be put out of his misery,as Judge Masipa gives her verdict.The whole world hopes it would be as if Judge Masipa was actually at the Pretoria home of Oscar Pistorius in spirit on that Valentine night, beholding the events.