Omotoso is free because 'the state has not proven its case'

The trial of Nigerian televangelist Pastor Timothy Omotoso and his co-accused involved several prosecutors, each handling different tasks over eight years.

Two prosecutors led the witnesses' testimony, two others who handled cross-examinations, and one who delivered the closing arguments. Despite this, the state failed to present a watertight case convictions.

On Wednesday Omotoso and his co-accused, who were facing charges including rape, sexual assault and human trafficking were acquitted.

In her ruling, Gqeberha high court judge Irma Schoeman heavily critisised the prosecution team and the National Prosecuting Authority's (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.

Advocates Nceba Ntelwa and Ismat Cerfontein initially worked on the matter.

However, Ntelwa withdrew from the case three years later when it emerged that he had suggested to Cerfontein that some witnesses leave out parts of their evidence not contained in police statements “as it would interfere with the state’s case”.

At the time, Cerfontein was assisting with the case.

Schoeman said the initial poor handling of the case by Ntelwa, and the slow response by the NPA in having him replaced, had played a role. But critically the state had failed to properly cross-examine the accused when they had the chance to do so, the judge said.

"Cross-examination lasted less than a morning and was just a synopsis of the accusations. It was shallow and lacked intent to uncover the truth."

Schoeman said the state, confronted with two mutually destructive versions of what happened in Omotoso's room at the Mission House church headquarters in Umhlanga, needed to show "a preponderance of probabilities.

"Yet no corroborating evidence like telephone records was presented."

According to Schoeman, while she might subjectively believe the accused, the state had presented nothing to prove that the account presented by the accused was not "reasonably, possibly true.

Sowetan's sister publication, The Herald, had previously reported that Cerfontein stepped down in March 2020 after one of Omotoso’s alleged victims, Cheryl Zondi, wrote to the NPA , claiming Cerfontein was “almost racist” and treated witnesses poorly.

Later in the trial, advocates Luvuyo Pomolo and Mduduzi Mzila were also brought in to handle the cross-examination in the matter, while advocate Joel Cesar did the closing arguments. 

Following yesterday's judgment, the NPA spokesperson in the Eastern Cape Luxolo Tyali said they will study the judgement and decide which legal avenues to explore. He said since the arrest of the trio in April 2017, their trial has been protracted with numerous obstacles, including interlocutory applications by the accused that even included Constitutional Court challenges.

"The most recent applications were for five special entries for a mistrial and an application made on 16 January 2024, where the defence made an application for the judge to reconsider her previous judgment on the application for discharge according to Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act, which were successfully opposed by the state.

"The delays caused some witnesses to no longer want to proceed with giving evidence as they indicated they have since moved on with their lives and are not interested in reliving their experiences in court. That has led to the reduction of the charges from 63."

Zondi, the unofficial spokesperson for the complainants, said they were devastated by the verdict.

Speaking to SABC TV, a tearful Zondi said they were regularly harassed and vilified in public and online since they came out with their accusations.

"The main thing is not even what he did to us, it's knowing he is not going to stop. He is going to continue doing this to other women. This verdict is enabling to him."

The verdict comes amid growing calls for justice for rape victims following the rape of a seven-year-old girl at a school in Eastern Cape in October last year.

She was reportedly raped and drugged in a classroom at Bergview College, an independent school in Matatiele.

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