Televangelist again fails to have evidence rejected

Human trafficking accused Pastor Timothy Omotoso’s latest bid to have the evidence against him declared inadmissible has failed, says a report in The Herald. The Nigerian televangelist and his two co-accused, Lusanda Sulani and Zikiswa Sitho, had argued in the Eastern Cape High Court (Gqeberha), South Africa, that the evidence the state had presented to court was obtained unconstitutionally. The prosecution opposed the application. Judge Irma Schoeman said she would allow the evidence to be considered in the trial. The matter was then postponed to 9 December for the defence’s case. Last week’s ruling comes after several similar failed applications by the defence. Omotoso had previously asked the court to make five special entries for a mistrial. On 16 January, the defence also asked Schoeman to reconsider her previous judgment to dismiss the accused’s application in terms of section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act. They had brought the application for their discharge at the close of the state’s case, arguing that the state had not made out a case strong enough for them to be expected to answer to. When that failed, the application for the evidence to be ruled inadmissible was brought. They face 32 charges, including racketeering, trafficking in persons for sexual purposes, rape and sexual assault. The trial has experienced numerous delays since Omotoso’s arrest in the city in April 2017. The delays caused some witnesses to no longer want to proceed with giving evidence. That led to the reduction of the charges from 63 to 32.

Omotoso, a Nigerian national, remains in custody, while his two co-accused are out on bail. Omotoso was the leader of the Jesus Dominion International church, while complainants were either congregants, employees of the church, or people selected to take part in church activities. Omotoso allegedy raped or sexually assaulted them. ‘The state remains committed to ensuring that this case is finalised as soon as possible so that justice is served for the victims,' National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson Luxolo Tyali said, according to The Herald report.