A Nigerian pastor facing a string of sex crimes‚ had another count added to his lengthy charge sheet in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday‚ when the state opted to charge him with being in the country illegally.

At the same time‚ the city’s high court ordered the minister of police to transport Timothy Omotoso to the Visa Facilitation Centre on Tuesday night so he could apply for an extension on his work visa which is due to expire on Wednesday.

The new charge‚ as well as the high court proceedings‚ saw Omotoso’s latest bid for bail‚ which had been set down for Tuesday‚ postponed again.

The senior pastor at the Jesus Dominion International Church‚ which has branches across the country‚ appeared briefly in the magistrate’s court on Tuesday morning‚ where his prominent new legal team said his latest shot at freedom – in the form of a bail application based on new facts – rested on the outcome of the application before the high court.

While the minister of police was initially opposed to the application‚ by 3pm on Tuesday and shortly after Omotoso was charged with being an illegal immigrant‚ they had agreed to assist him with his application for a new work visa.