NPA Faces Scrutiny After Timothy Omotoso Is Found Not Guilty, Prosecutor Accused of Incompetence
- Pastor Timothy Omotoso was found not guilty of rape in the Gqeberha High Court on 2 April 2025
- The prosecutor in the case has come under scrutiny after allegations were made regarding his conduct
- The National Prosecuting Authority will now have to provide a detailed report into what went wrong
- ActionSA's Mpumalanga chairperson Thoko Mashiane spoke to Briefly News about the case
Source: Getty Images
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 may be a free man, but questions remain as to how the State failed to secure a conviction.
The controversial religious leader and his co-accused, Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho, were found not guilty by the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court in Gqeberha after the State failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Omotoso and his co-accused faced charges of rape and human trafficking. During their lenghthy trial, the accused appealed to have the charges dropped.
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NPA and prosecutor under fire after Omotoso’s acquittal
Following the not-guilty verdict, the National Prosecuting Authority and the prosecutor have come under fire.
Advocate Nceba Ntelwa has been accused of incompetence and deceit during the trial of the Nigerian televangelist.
A decision was originally taken to have Ntelwa removed from the case, but one of the complainants approached the National Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Shamila Batohi, to ask that he be kept on the case.
State failed to prove case beyond reasonable doubt
In her ruling in the Omotoso case, Judge Irma Schoeman found that the State didn’t present a strong case and also failed in adequately cross-examining the accused.
She noted that the State failed to provide evidence for some crucial aspects of the case and detailed how Ntelwa’s actions jeopardised matters.
When it was found that the evidence of the witnesses were different to what they told police originally, he suggested that they stick to the original statements to avoid further delays.
“I asked him if he knew that the one complainant made a contradictory statement during consultation. He denied that he knew that fact,” the Judge noted.
She was also dumbfounded when he claimed that he didn’t know that using a finger to penetrate someone constituted rape.
“It is inconceivable that a prosecutor with 14 years of experience does not know what the definition of rape is.”
She added that this either proved he was incompetent or just dishonest.
Ntelwa’s WhatsApp group sparks concern
Judge Schoeman also found that Ntelwa created a WhatsApp group for all complainants, even though witnesses are not allowed to talk to each other.
When questioned about it, he claimed that he did it for logistical reasons. Before a proper investigation could be done into his conduct, he deleted the group and all the messages.
Briefly News speaks to ActionSA
ActionSA's Mpumalanga provincial chairperson Thoko Mashiane spoke to Briefly News about the case. She slammed the state for the verdict.
"The acquittal of Timothy Omotoso, after an eight-year ordeal, is a damning indictment of the NPA’s handling of the case. The victims were retraumatised by delays and poor prosecution," she said.
Bushiri urges Omotoso to leave South Africa
Briefly News reported that Shepherd Bushiri advised Nigerian televangelist Timothy Omotoso to leave South Africa as soon as he could.
Omotoso was found not guilty of rape and human trafficking in the Gqeberha High Court on 2 April 2025 after eight years.
Bushiri, who also faces charges in South Africa, is currently in Malawi and is fighting his extradition back to the country.
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Source: Briefly News
