Pastor Timothy Omotoso's Rape Trial Resumes on Wednesday, Defence Want Charges Dropped

• Controversial pastor Timothy Omotoso and his co-accused Lusanda Solani and Zukiswa Sitho have applied to get the charges brought against them dropped
• They are accused of more than 90 charges related to rape, sexual offences, racketeering as well as human trafficking
• They want to be acquitted on the basis that the prosecutors overseeing the case were in an acting capacity at the time the case was brought against them

PORT ELIZABETH - The Port Elizabeth High Court resumed controversial pastor Timothy Omotoso's rape trial on Wednesday.

Omotoso and his co-accused Lusanda Solani and Zukiswa Sitho made an application to have the charges against them dropped. According to eNCA, they are facing over 90 charges related to human trafficking, racketeering as well as sexual offences.

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Omotoso's legal representative Peter Daubermann, argues that the charges should be dropped on the basis that the prosecutors on the case were not yet signed as prosecutors when they brought charges against Omotoso and his co-accused and were merely acting prosecutors, according to SABC News.

He also stated that they were operating under the terms of an agreement signed between them and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), which did not grant the prosecutors the authority to act as prosecutors.

The NPA does not have the authority to carry out this duty; only the National Director of Public Prosecutions does, according to Omotoso's lawyer.

The state admitted that the prosecutors were acting at the time and were appointed on 31 May. This was done through a deal with the NPA to prosecute the case but the approval came from the NDPP.

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Timothy Omotoso's bail application has been denied

Briefly News previously reported that controversial pastor Timothy Omotoso was denied bail today in the Port Elizabeth High Court. This is the third time Omotoso has been denied bail since his arrest.

Omotoso faces 97 charges including rape, sexual assault and human trafficking. He was arrested in 2017 and has been behind bars ever since. He was charged alongside church members Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho.

The 62-year-old has tried applying for bail in the past but his attempts were denied by the courts. He was arrested by the Hawks Human Trafficking Unit at the Port Elizabeth International Airport in April 2017.

EWN reported that Omotoso's co-accused are currently out on bail while eNCA reported that the Nigerian televangelist made his bail bid in October.

Source: Briefly News