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- Televangelist Timothy Omotoso, accused of rape, will spend his third Christmas in jail.
- His case was postponed until 2021 on Monday, after he lost a request to have the evidence of two state witnesses declared inadmissible.
- He has been in jail since his dramatic arrest at Port Elizabeth International Airport on April 20, 2017.
Televangelist Timothy Omotoso accused of rape will spend another Christmas behind bars.
His case was postponed until 2021 in the Eastern Cape Superior Court in Port Elizabeth on Monday after the court dismissed his request for the testimony of two state witnesses to be declared inadmissible.
His attorney, Peter Daubermann, told News24 that Judge Philip Zilwa did not provide the reasons for the firing on Monday.
“I don’t know, the judge didn’t give any reason,” he said.
“The trial will resume on January 26, 2021. I have no further comment. It is inappropriate for a lawyer or defender to comment on a case that is sub judice,” he added.
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Omotoso has been in jail since April 20, 2017, when the Hawks in Port Elizabeth arrested him.
He shares the dock with Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho, who are out on bail.
All three face 97 charges, including rape, human trafficking and extortion, for allegedly attacking and recruiting girls for sexual exploitation. The girls are alleged to have been transferred from their homes to two mission houses in KwaZulu-Natal, where they were allegedly forced to engage in sexual acts with Omotoso.
The televangelist has been plagued by failed apps since the long-running case began.
Last month, the same court refused to release him on bail.
Earlier this month, his request for permission to appeal the sentence also failed. Omotoso’s legal team alleged that the court, considering that he was at risk of flight, overlooked the existence of an extradition treaty between South Africa and his home country of Nigeria.
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