By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Eastern Cape Division of the High Court, Gqeberha will hear the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) first part of the appeal process in the case of controversial Timothy Omotoso and his co-accused.
This follows the acquittal of Omotoso and his co-accused, Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho.
Judge Irma Schoeman found that the prosecutors failed to lead corroborating evidence in the case and also failed to cross-examine properly.
In a statement, NPA spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga said, this follows a directive by Judge Schoeman, that the State send request for clarification of factual findings in her judgement before the state can request reservations of questions of law in terms of section 319 of the Criminal Procedure Act of 1977, for consideration by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). This is the only limited mechanism the State can appeal an acquital judgement in South African law.”
The honourable judge then ordered the State and the defence to argue the matter before her after Omotoso’s attorney notified the Registrar that the defence was opposed to the State request, thus afford the Judge provide such clarification before the State, added Mhaga.
Omotoso was declared a prohibited person by the home affairs minister recetly in another setback in his long-standing battle to stay in South Africa. This status, however, stems not from the criminal proceedings but from allegations that he used fraudulent documentation to enter and work in South Africa 25 years ago.
A a result, Department of Home Affairs confirmed Omotoso had flown to Nigeria from OR Tambo International Airport.
Omotoso was first arrested in 2017 as he attempted to leave South Africa.
In 2024 the NPA successfully appealed a rape acquittal, against a ruling on the meaning of consent. In that case the accused was convicted in the Regional Court on a charge of rape but successfully appealed the matter to the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court, where his conviction and sentence of seven years were set aside. The Supreme Court of Appeal, however, ruled in favour of the National Prosecuting Authority on the legal meaning of consent and remitted the case to the high court for an appeal against sentence.
Omotoso leads the Jesus Dominion International church which has branches in the UK, Nigeria, France and Israel as well as in many parts of South Africa, according to its website.