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Timothy Omotoso, accused of rape, is seen during his trial in Port Elizabeth Superior Court.
Eugene Coetzee, Gallo Images, El Heraldo
- Televangelist Timothy Omotoso’s request for permission to appeal a denial of bail judgment has failed.
- Judge Philip Zilwa determined that there was no compelling reason for the appeal to be heard.
- Zilwa also said that he does not see any other court reaching a different conclusion.
Televangelist Timothy Omotoso, accused of rape, lost his request for permission to appeal a denied bail sentence.
On Wednesday, Judge Philip Zilwa said that Omoto’s application in the Eastern Cape Superior Court in Port Elizabeth was dismissed on the grounds that there was no reasonable prospect of success and because there was no other compelling reason why the claim should be heard. appeal.
“On the premises, I am of the opinion that there is no reasonable prospect of success in the planned appeal, therefore there is no basis for awarding [the] Leave to appeal what is sought in this application, ”Zilwa said Wednesday.
READ | Timothy Omotoso accused of rape denied bail
Zilwa described the grounds on which the request was based as “unsubstantiated and unsubstantiated”.
In the request, Omoto’s legal team claimed that the court, by dismissing the initial bail request, overlooked the existence of an extradition treaty between South Africa and Omoto’s home country of Nigeria when it was deemed to be at risk. leakage.
Omotoso is on trial alongside co-defendants Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho. Sulani and Sitho 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.
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