Andisiwe Dike returned to mission house out of fear, Omotoso trial hears

State witness Andisiwe Dike in the Port Elizabeth high court.
State witness Andisiwe Dike in the Port Elizabeth high court.
Image: Eugene Coetzee

A few months after being recruited to the Durban mission house of the Jesus Dominion International (JDI) church in May 2016, Andisiwe Dike was allowed to go and visit her mother in East London.

But she returned a week later out of fear, the Port Elizabeth high court heard on Tuesday. 

Testifying for a second day in the trial of alleged rapist and human trafficker Timothy Omotoso, Dike, 30, said she was permitted to leave Durban and was given money by Omotoso to travel to her mother, reports SowetanLIVE's sister publication HeraldLIVE.

Dike said she had to go to her grandmother in Peddie after arriving at her mother’s home in October 2016, to avoid telling her mother about what had happened at the mission house.

Dike was allegedly sexually assaulted numerous times by Omotoso during the 13 months she stayed at the Durban residence.

Dike told the court that while in Peddie, she began drinking heavily and ignored calls from Omotoso’s co-accused Lusanda Sulani and another woman named Khanyo.

Omotoso, Sulani and a third accused, Zukiswa Sitho, face 63 main and 34 alternative charges ranging from rape to sexual assault and human trafficking.

They pleaded not guilty to all the charges on Monday.

On Tuesday, Dike told the court that she was afraid not to return to the mission house because Omotoso would allegedly curse her.

“I would die a shameful death and dogs would drink my blood from the streets,” she said.

Dike said she continued staying at the mission house following Omotoso’s arrest on April 20 2017.

The trial continues.