The case against televangelist Timothy Omotoso and his two co-accused, Lusanda Sulani and Zikiswa Sitho, has been postponed until April 2 for judgment.
The high court in Gqeberha postponed the rape, sexual assault and racketeering case after the state and the defence submitted their heads of arguments on Wednesday.
“The judgment will mark a remarkable milestone for the case that has been marred by delays for almost eight years since the arrest of the trio. It follows a decision on previous applications by the televangelist for five special entries for a mistrial,” said National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Luxolo Tyali.
He said the numerous delays in the trial since the arrest of Omotoso, 63, a Nigerian, in April 2017, caused some witnesses to no longer want to testify as they indicated they had since moved on with their lives and were not interested in reliving their experiences in court.
That led to the reduction of the counts from 63 to 32. Omotoso, who was denied bail while the two South African women he is charged with are out on bail, is now facing charges including racketeering, trafficking in people, rape and sexual assault.
“It is alleged that Omotoso, who was addressed as ‘the man of God’, was the leader of the Jesus Dominion International (JDI) church and his co-accused were his assistants. JDI had major branches in South Africa, Nigeria and Israel, with Durban being its headquarters in the country.”
Tyali said the complainants were either congregants, employees or people selected to take part in the activities of the church when they were recruited under the pretext that they would benefit spiritually or improve the quality of their lives.
“Omotoso allegedly directly or indirectly, through his co-accused, paid and arranged for the complainants to travel to his hotel in Durban, Israel, or Nigeria.
“However, once the complainants arrived, Omotoso or his assistants would inform them of house rules which included that their cellphones be switched off, there would be no contact with male companions and his instructions had to be obeyed.”
Tyali said the complainants and other female church members were allegedly kept in one room where they also slept. Omotoso would allegedly select one of the complainants to go to his private bedroom where he raped or sexually assaulted them.
Tyali said, “The state remains committed to ensuring that this case is finalised as soon as possible so that justice is served for the victims and believes that it has presented enough evidence for the accused people to be found guilty.”
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