- Pastor Timothy Omotoso, the pastor accused of raping his congregants, is back in court to continue his trial
- Omotoso faces over 30 charges of rape, racketeering, assault and human trafficking and stands trial with two of his co-accused
- South Africans demanded that Omotoso remain in prison, and some slammed the criminal justice system for dragging the case
With nine years’ experience, Tebogo Mokwena, a current affairs writer for Briefly News, provided insights into the criminal justice system and high-profile cases in South Africa at Daily Sun.
Source: Getty Images
GQEBERHA, EASTERN CAPE – The rape trial of pastor Timothy Omotoso who faces dozens of charges, including rape and human trafficking, resumes in the Gqeberha High Court.
Omotoso trial continues
According to SABC News, Omotoso stands accused of 32 charges which include assault, rape and human trafficking. His co-accused, Zukiswa Sitho and Lusanda Sulani, also face similar charges. SA courts ruled in favour of Omotoso this year. In February, Judge Irma Schoeman ruled that the state make special entries into the case’s court file that accuse the state of wrongdoing.
The first entry states that former state prosecutor Adovate Nceba Ntelwa tried to influence witnesses to commit perjury. The state has also been called into question for allowing Ntelwa to continue with the case despite his conduct. Omotoso also tried to have the charges against him dropped but failed.
SA slams the criminal justice system
South Africans on X were unhappy with the criminal justice system and accused it of dragging the case for too long.
The Inevitable Revluton said:
“This case has been dragging on for the past 10 years.”
Mzukisi Ndabeni said:
“is this case still going on? The South African justice system is pathetic. Yes, I am an attorney but this is just unacceptable.”
South Africans on Facebook were also displeased.
Mzwandile Nkosi said:
“It’s been dragging so long for witnesses to forget and contradict their earlier statements.”
Michael Sibanyoni sarcastically said:
“It should be postponed again until 2030.”
Timothy Omotoso lost court bid to have charges dropped
In a similar article, Briefly News reported that Omotoso’s attempts to be released from prison were frustrated.
He lost a bid to drop all the charges against him and was unsuccessful. SA celebrated him.
Source: Briefly News
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