Justice minister wants answers on Omotoso's acquittal

Justice minister Mmamoloko Kubayi has called on National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) boss Adv Shamila Batohi to deliver a detailed report by Monday following the scathing judgment that acquitted Nigerian televangelist pastor Timothy Omotoso and his two co-accused.  

Kubayi said while she acknowledges the statement by the NPA indicating that they will study the judgment, she also wanted a comprehensive report from Batohi to understand the factors that contributed to the acquittal.

"Listening to the judge was the most painful thing for me as a minister overseeing this portfolio,"Kubayi said. 

Omotoso and his co-accused, Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho, were facing 32 charges including rape, sexual assault and human trafficking. They were acquitted of them all.

In her ruling, Gqeberha high court judge Irma Schoeman heavily criticised the prosecution team and the NPA management of the case, saying they had failed to prove that the charges were true and beyond doubt. "The state has not proven its case and I find the accused not guilty... on all charges.

She also found that former prosecutors in the case acted improperly and that the accused were not sufficiently cross-examined by the state.

Schoeman said the initial poor handling of the case by one of the first prosecutors in the case, Adv Nceba Ntelwa, and the slow response by the NPA in having him replaced, had played a role.

Kubayi said: "Watching a woman (one of the witnesses, Cheryl Zondi) cry after the verdict was heartbreaking."

She said the judgment was concerning her because many of the victims of gender-based-violence take real effort to go and testify in court.

Kubayi said her fear as the minister overseeing the justice portfolio was that the "outcome might discourage many who have been brave enough to stand against the most powerful people to give testimony in court". 

"We can't continue to protect perpetrators but more, we need to stand with victims, we must be victim centric in our approach but understand the plight of those who go through this torture."

In a statement on Thursday, the NPA said Batohi had also asked for a report from the Eastern Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Barry Madolo, on the judgement. 

"The NDPP [national director of public prosecution] will carefully study the judgment when it is made available to the parties. In the meantime, she has expressed her serious concerns about adverse findings made by the judge against the prosecution team, relating to the manner in which the prosecution was conducted."

SowetanLIVE