Pastor Timothy Omotoso and Co-accused Found Not Guilty, Nigerian Televangelist Free After 8 Years

• Pastor Timoty Omotoso has been found not guilty of rape in the Gqeberha High Court
• The Nigerian televangelist was arrested in 2017 and faced 63 charges alongside two co-accused
• Judge Irma Schoeman found that the State failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt
• Briefly News spoke to ActionSA's Mpumalanga chairperson, Thoko Mashiane, about the case

Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent ten years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism

EASTERN CAPE - Pastor Timothy Omotoso is officially a free man.

The 66-year-old, alongside his co-accused Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho, were found not guilty of rape and human trafficking by Judge Irma Schoeman. The ruling was made on 2 April 2025 in the Gqeberha High Court.

Omotoso found not guilty after 8 years

The Nigerian televangelist has been found not guilty of the charges, eight years after he was first arrested. Omotoso was arrested on 20 April 2017 by the Hawks in Port Elizabeth in connection with cases contravening the Sexual Offences Act.

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The leader of the Jesus Dominion International (JDI) Church was accused of rape and human trafficking and faced 63 different charges alongside his co-accused.

Sulani and Sitho were arrested on 21 November 2017. It was alleged that they recruited girls from all over the country to join the church and stay at the JDI mission houses, where Omotoso allegedly sexually assaulted some of them.

State fails to prove case beyond reasonable doubt

During her verdict, Judge Schoeman said the State failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. Schoeman also noted that the cross-examination of the accused was of poor quality.

“No thought went into the State’s cross-examination of the accused. The cross-examination was shallow and lacking the intention to uncover the truth,” the judge noted.

Omotoso will now be deported to Nigeria. Following his acquittal, Omotoso and his co-accused got down on their knees and prayed in the courtroom.

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His release also drew celebrations from his numerous supporters who followed his lenghty legal battle.

An Eastern Cape woman also sparked criticism online after she celebrated the pastor's release from prison. The end of the Nigerian televangelist's legal troubles also caught the eye of another man of the cloth who is facing his own charges of rape.

Self-proclaimed prophet, Shepherd Bushiri, weighed in on the acquittal, urging Omotoso to leave the country as soon as he could. Bushiri, who is currently in Malawi and fighting extradition back to South Africa, has previously criticised the justice system in the country.

ActionSA slams verdict

ActionSA's Mpumalanga chairperson Thoko Mashiane slammed the verdict. she spoke to Briefly News.

"ActionSA views this as a systemic failure that highlights the urgent need to reform the prosecutorial services to ensure professionalism and justice, especially in gender-based violence cases. Survivors must never again be failed by the very institutions meant to protect them," she said.

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Prosecutor under fire after Omotoso verdict

Briefly News also reported that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) was under fire after Pastor Timoty Omotoso was found not guilty.

The prosecutor in the case has come under scrutiny after allegations were made that he was deceitful and incompetent.

The NPA will now have to provide a detailed report into what went wrong after a lengthy eight-year investigation.

Source: Briefly News