Timothy Omotoso and his co-accused, Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho in the Eastern Cape High Court in Gqeberha on Tuesday.
- Televangelist Timothy Omotoso failed to get a mistrial declared when the court ruled against his application on Tuesday.
- However, he and his two co-accused were acquitted of almost half of the charges against them.
- The court also had stern words for a prosecutor whom Omotoso’s lawyer accused of misconduct.
The application for a mistrial in the case against rape-accused televangelist Timothy Omotoso was denied by Judge Irma Schoeman in the Eastern Cape High Court in Gqeberha on Tuesday.
However, when Schoeman delivered judgment to a packed courtroom, she dismissed 31 of the more than 60 charges faced by Omotoso and his co-accused, Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho.
Omotoso’s lawyer, Peter Daubermann, brought the application for discharge in terms of Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act early last month, claiming his client did not have a fair trial.
The Hawks arrested Omotoso in April 2017, but his trial has faced numerous delays, including a different prosecutor and judge being appointed.
Daubermann claims there was “prosecutorial misconduct”.
He said one of the previous state prosecutors assigned to the case, advocate Nceba Ntelwa, allegedly encouraged witnesses to perjure themselves.
READ | Rape-accused televangelist Timothy Omotoso wants a mistrial but State insists it was fair
Daubermann also claimed that Ntelwa “entangled” himself with the witnesses to secure a conviction.
Omotoso, who is the leader of the Jesus Dominion International Church, faced 63 charges ranging from rape and trafficking in persons for sexual purposes to sexual assault and racketeering.
The three accused now only face 32 charges. These still include several counts of rape and sexual assault.
In her judgment, Schoeman said it is common cause that the State did not lead evidence on some of these charges. Therefore, all three accused have the right to be acquitted of those charges.
According to National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Luxolo Tyali, some witnesses changed their minds about testifying, and others relocated as the case dragged on for years.
Schoeman added there were still serious charges remaining that the accused must answer.
READ | Rape-accused televangelist Timothy Omotoso wants a mistrial but State insists it was fair
Schoeman found that Ntelwa acted irregularly in certain instances, but this mostly concerned the evidence of one specific witness.
Ntelwa allegedly told the witness not to deviate from her police statement, where she did not mention an alleged rape, although she informed a different prosecutor about the alleged rape.
Schoeman ruled that while Ntelwa’s conduct was “highly irregular”, it led to the trial being unfair.
“At this stage of the proceedings, I cannot find that the conduct of Mr Ntelwa has rendered the trial unfair. Mr Ntelwa’s conduct was contrary to the principles required of a prosecutor, but in the final analysis, it related solely to the evidence of [one witness].”
Schoeman lamented:
The fact that he tried to mislead the court does not render the trial unfair.
Schoeman explained that Daubermann had an opportunity to recall witnesses and establish through cross-examination if Ntelwa influenced them after his conduct was exposed, but that did not happen.
“It cannot be ignored that the witnesses all made statements to the police without the intervention of Mr Ntelwa. The opportunity was there to recall the witnesses to determine whether there was any untoward influence by Mr Ntelwa. Mr Daubermann did not avail himself of such a right,” Schoeman said.
The case was postponed to 13 November.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Omotoso’s supporters, dressed in white T-shirts donning their church leader’s face, sang and danced in the street outside the court under police supervision.
Timothy Omotoso’s supporters went wild when Zukiswa Sitho was picked up in this luxury vehicle following Tuesday’s court proceedings.
A smaller group from the ANC Women’s League also rallied outside against Omotoso.
The MEC for Social Development, Bukiwe Fanta, said she is “over the moon” with the ruling against the mistrial.
“Once more, the judgment is with us that Mr Omotoso must rot in jail.”
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