Don’t blame me – Nel

“His emotions cannot be blamed on me,” Nel told the High Court in Pretoria.

This was after Pistorius’s counsel Barry Roux, SC, said repetition of certain aspects caused Pistorius to be emotional, causing the proceedings to be adjourned.

Proceedings had already been adjourned twice on Monday as Pistorius broke down during cross-examination.

Presiding Judge Thokozile Masipa said she would have noted if Nel had been repeating questions.

Roux also complained that Nel had accused Pistorius of leaving out crucial evidence about a door he heard slamming.

“In the recording, he did explain the slamming of the door,” said Roux.

Earlier, Pistorius acknowledged that this fact was not included in the bail application and plea explanation.

“Why?” Nel questioned earlier.

“I’m not sure, my lady,” Pistorius answered.

“It’s because you invented it,” Nel said in response.

Pistorius has been charged with murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp when he shot her through a locked toilet door in his Pretoria home on February 14 last year.

He says he mistook her for an intruder.

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 allegedly fired a shot from a Glock pistol under a table at a Johannesburg restaurant in January 2013.

On September 30, 2012 he allegedly shot through the open sunroof of a car with his 9mm pistol while driving with friends in Modderfontein.

He has also denied guilt on these charges.

– Sapa