Oscar Pistorius will be sentenced on Tuesday

Initially there was a lot of speculation surrounding how long Judge Thokozile  Masipa would take to reveal Oscar's fate, with some reports indicating that it could drag on into November. But Judge Masipa has just announced that she will hand down sentence on Tuesday, 21 October.

This was revealed a few minutes ago, after defence advocate Barry Roux and state prosecutor Gerrie Nel wrapped up their closing arguments in aggravation and mitigation of sentence.

Both parties delivered emotionally charged arguments. State prosecutor Gerrie Nel told the court that it was the court's responsibility to ensure that what happened to the family of Reeva Steenkamp doesn't happen to anyone else.

Barry Roux urged the court to treat Oscar with the spirit of the African principal uBuntu. "It is that permanent excruciating pain is that it's you that caused the death of a loved one. It is you. That will never go away. Whatever punishment… lifelong, 15 years, 10 years, correctional supervision… it can never be equated to that pain," Barry told the court.

*Picture: Elite