Nigerian Pastor Timothy Omotoso after the verdict in his case was passed at the Gqeberha Division of the High Court on 2 April 2025 in Gqeberha, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Die Burger / Lulama Zenzile) 
As the State prepares to appeal the acquittal of Nigerian televangelist Timothy Omotoso, his defence counsel has branded their first step as a “fishing expedition” and an attempt to have the judgment amended in favour of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
The NPA brought an application before the Gqeberha Division of the High Court for Judge Irma Schoeman to provide “clarification” of the judgment that saw Omotoso acquitted on multiple charges of sexual assault and human trafficking.
The application, brought before court on Monday, 14 July 2025, did not single out specific aspects of the judgment, but rather sought clarity on the factual findings of Judge Schoeman’s entire judgment.
This flies in the face of normal procedure as the prosecution has yet to provide its “legal question” — the specific aspects of the judgment it does not agree with and believes another court might make a different ruling on.
Senior State prosecutor Apla Bodlani SC indicated to the court that the State already had a strong basis for its appeal, but sought a better explanation from Judge Schoeman to “satisfy [themselves] that [their] approach would be sustainable”.
Omotoso and his co-accused, Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho, were not in court as their presence was not required for these proceedings.
South African immigration authorities served the controversial pastor with a five-year ban from the country as he was flying out of OR Tambo International Airport in May.
Read more: Pastor Timothy Omotoso slapped with five-year ban as he leaves SA
Omotoso’s legal counsel Peter Daubermann called the State’s application a “retrospective fishing expedition” and an abuse of court processes in an attempt for the judge to revise her ruling.
He said there was no legal mechanism that allowed for this course of action and accused the State of trying to “reverse engineer a factual foundation” that would provide it with reasons to appeal.
Omotoso, Sulani and Sitho were the subjects of an eight-year trial in which they were accused of multiple counts of sexual assault and human trafficking by members of Omotoso’s Jesus Dominion International church.
The trial was marred by controversy around the NPA’s conduct, and in April Judge Schoeman acquitted them on all the charges. Judge Schoeman in her ruling cited flaws in the prosecution’s case, including almost no cross-examination challenging the versions of the accused as well as a lack of corroborating evidence led by the State.
Read more: Damning allegations made against NPA and prosecutor after televangelist Timothy Omotoso’s acquittal
Following his acquittal Omotoso embarked on a “New Dawn crusade” in East London. But on the second last day of the April crusade he was arrested on immigration charges at a church where he was meant to preach.
Read more: Controversial pastor Timothy Omotoso arrested on immigration charges in East London
He was then declared a prohibited person. That status, however, stemmed not from the criminal proceedings, but from allegations that he had used fraudulent documentation to enter South Africa.
During court proceedings on Monday, Daubermann further argued that Judge Schoeman was “functus officio”, meaning she had completed her duties with regard to this matter.
He said her judgment was final and she “was not unclear or ambiguous”.
“If this application is entertained it will set a precedent, and an accused will never know if a judgment is final or not,” Daubermann said.
Bodlani maintained that the intention of the application was not for Judge Schoeman to alter or supplement her judgment. He reiterated that after studying the judgment, the State was still unclear on what the factual findings were, and for it to better prepare their appeal, it required Judge Schoeman to provide clarity on her findings.
The judge said she would need time to consider the opposing arguments, and that the judgment would be delivered on 22 July 2025. DM