Pretoria – The first witness in the re-trial of rape accused Nigerian televangelist Timothy Omotoso took the stand on Monday, in the in the Eastern Cape High Court.
According to News24, 30-year-old Andisiwe Dike from East London identified Omotoso’s co-accused Zukiswa Sitho and a woman known as Khanyo as the key people in her recruitment to the inner circle of the Jesus Dominion International (JDI) mission house in Durban.
She also the court in Port Elizabeth how Omotoso had made several moves to be close to her, including during prayer sessions inside the church.
Sitho and another co-accused, Lusanda Sulani are accused of recruiting girls from all over the country for purposes of sexual exploitation.
The televangelist allegedly trafficked more than 30 girls and women who were from various branches of his church to a house in Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal, where he allegedly sexually exploited them.
Omotoso was arrested on April 20, 2017, by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, at the Port Elizabeth Airport. He has been denied bail on different occasions as he was deemed a flight risk. The women were arrested in November 2017 and are out on bail of R2 000.