‘Sex pest’ charges stick

PASTOR: ALLEGED PREDATOR STAYS BEHIND BARS AS MISTRIAL FAILS Televangelist, two others face 32 charges, including rape, sexual assault.

Timothy Omotoso, the rape accused Nigerian televangelist, and his two co-accused, Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho, have been dealt another blow after their application for five special entries for a mistrial were dismissed by the Eastern Cape High Court in Gqeberha.

Attorney Peter Daubermann, for the 65-year-old leader of the Jesus Dominion International (JDI), had made an application to Judge Irma Schoeman to reconsider her previous judgment on the application for discharge according to Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act.

However, the court only allowed the entries of irregularities about the conduct of the former prosecutor and his supervisors, but ordered that they be dealt with at the end of the trial.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Luxolo Tyali said the matter was postponed for the main trial to proceed from 24 June to 5 July.

“Schoeman had previously dismissed their application for discharge and the state was ready to proceed with the remaining proceedings in the trial, meaning that the accused must present their case and they will be subject to cross-examination by the state,” Tyali said.

“The trio are facing 32 charges, which include racketeering, trafficking in persons for sexual purposes, rape and sexual assault.”

According to Daubermann, Schoeman acted irregularly when she refused to call the prosecutors, who were previously either directly and indirectly involved with the case, to testify under oath or be subject to cross-examination.

This follows allegations of misconduct

by two previous prosecutors, advocates Nceba Ntelwa and Ishmet Cerfontein.

The allegations stem from Ntelwa allegedly telling a witness not to deviate from her police statement, where she did not mention an alleged rape, although she informed Cerfontein about it.

The trial has experienced numerous delays since Omotoso’s arrest by the Hawks in April 2017.

The delays caused some witnesses to no longer want to give evidence as they have since moved on with their lives and are not interested in reliving their experiences in court, including a different prosecutor and judge being appointed.

That led to the reduction of the charges from 63. Omotoso – who was denied bail while the two South African women, Sulani

and Sitho, are out on bail – is now facing 32 counts, including racketeering, trafficking in persons, rape, and sexual assault.

It is alleged that Omotoso, who was addressed as “The Man of God”, was the leader of the JDI church, and Sulani and Sitho were his assistants. JDI had major branches in Nigeria, Israel and

South Africa, with Durban being its headquarters in the country.

Tyali said the victims were either congregants, employees or persons selected to take part in the activities of the church when they were recruited under the pretext 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, 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 or told not to contact male companions and were to further abide by his instructions.

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