New prosecutor to tackle Omotoso trial
The National Prosecuting Authority has confirmed that the state prosecutor in the rape and human trafficking trial of Timothy Omotoso has been replaced.
The decision has led to yet another delay in the trial, which has been reopened after the original judge recused himself last year, after it emerged that his wife owned a guest house where state witnesses were staying.
State prosecutor Ishmet Cerfontein told judge Irma Schoeman in the Port Elizabeth High Court yesterday that her co-prosecutor, Nceba Ntelwa, was no longer available to continue with the case.
NPA spokesperson Luxolo Tyali later confirmed that Cerfontein would now be assisted by advocate Mujaahid Sandan.
According to Tyali, Ntelwa was dealing with another, “far more complex”, matter that required his urgent attention.
It emerged in court last week that the defence had not been presented with sufficient information on the allegations of sexual assault, rape and human trafficking made by two state witnesses before Omotoso and his co-accused entered their pleas.
At the start of the reopened trial in February, Omotoso and his co-accused, Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho, pleaded not guilty to 63 main and 34 alternative charges ranging from sexual assault and rape to human trafficking and racketeering.
After the testimony of state witnesses Andisiwe Dike and Lerato Msibi, both 30, attorney Peter Daubermann brought an application to have most of their evidence struck from the record.
Daubermann said Dike and Msibi’s evidence-in-chief extended far beyond the information supplied to the defence in the form of the indictment before the court and further particulars that were requested.
He also pointed to glaring discrepancies between the witnesses’ statements to the police and their evidence in court.
Daubermann said it was not fair to have Omotoso, Sulani and Sitho plead to charges if the relevant information regarding those specific allegations was not available to them to properly prepare a defence.
This information, he said, included dates and places where the alleged human trafficking, sexual assaults and rapes of Dike and Msibi had taken place.
Ntelwa then brought a counter-application to amend the indictment, saying he was not fully aware of everything the witnesses would testify about in court.
Schoeman had been expected to rule on the two applications yesterday morning but this was stalled when Cerfontein informed the court of Ntelwa’s departure from the prosecution team.
Cerfontein asked the court to postpone the matter to April 14 to allow the new state counsel to properly prepare for the matter.
Daubermann said though his clients were not happy with the long delay, he would not oppose the application.
Schoeman postponed the matter to April 14 and instructed Cerfontein to ensure that Msibi would be present on that date to possibly continue with her cross-examination.