Cape Town – A controversial televangelist accused of rape and sex trafficking appeared in the Port Elizabeth High Court on Thursday as his bid for bail got under way.
Pastor Timothy Omotoso, originally from Nigeria, has been behind bars since his arrest at the Port Elizabeth International Airport in April 2017.
He was arrested along with two women who allegedly recruited girls and women for Omotoso to exploit. Omotoso has on countless occasions applied for bail without success.
Now, in the hope of being released, his defence counsel is urging the court to reconsider. The sex-trafficking trial goes ahead on Monday.
Omotoso's lawyer, advocate Terry Price, will also be making an application for an inquiry into reasons for “protracted delays in the case”.
The defence is urging the court to dismiss the testimony and evidence given by two of the State witnesses.
The witnesses testified to the alleged ordeals and sexual abuse they allegedly endured at the hands of Omotoso over a long period of time while they were members of his congregation.
In court, the presiding judge stated that the trial, which was initially set down for this week, had been postponed due to Omotoso’s application.
“I have to entertain this application and because of that I had to postpone the main case to Monday and that was with the hopes and expectations that by Friday we would have wrapped up this case.
“Now you are telling me that your witness who would have enabled me to possibly finalise this case this week will not be here; she will only be here on Monday? Which means it will be impossible for me to wrap up this case this week,” the judge told Price.
Price claimed he only found out at the last minute that his witness would not be available until Monday.
Price has urged the court to proceed with the main trial on Tuesday, submitting that the main case had nothing to do with the outcome of the bail application.
He also took a stab at the prosecution, stating that if they were not ready to resume the trial on Tuesday, it was evident the State was “playing games”.
African News Agency (ANA)