Nigerian Pastor Timothy Omotoso after the verdict in his case was handed down at the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court on 2 April 2025. (Photo: Lulama Zenzile / Gallo Images / Die Burger) The Supreme Court of Appeal has granted the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) the right to appeal the controversial acquittal of Nigerian pastor Timothy Omotoso.
Advocate Peter Daubermann — who represented Omotoso and his co-accused, Lusanda Solani, and Zukiswa Zitho, during their trial — confirmed he will continue to represent the trio in the upcoming appeal. When asked if he knew his client’s current whereabouts, Daubermann declined to comment.
/file/attachments/2991/Pastor-Omotoso_349927.jpeg "Nigerian Pastor Timothy Omotoso was acquitted of several charges of sexual assault in April 2025. (Photo: Gallo Images)")
In May 2025, Omotoso was declared an undesirable person in South Africa and banned for five years. He left the country of his own accord.
This followed his acquittal by Judge Irma Schoeman, after a seven-year trial, on multiple counts of sexual assault and human trafficking. It is this verdict that the NPA has won leave to appeal.
Omotoso spent eight years in jail awaiting trial after his dramatic arrest at Gqeberha’s Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport in 2017. A drawn-out court case followed, marred by allegations of prosecutorial misconduct. Originally, Omotoso and his co-accused faced more than 30 charges of rape, racketeering and human trafficking relating to activities at the Jesus Dominion International Church in Durban.
Although Judge Schoeman noted she did not necessarily disbelieve the complainants — who shared heartbreaking accounts of substance abuse and viewing Omotoso as a mentor and father figure — she ruled that the State failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ED_543504.jpg "Pastor Timothy Omotoso. (Photo: Gallo Images /Die Burger / Lulama Zenzile)")
She pointed out that prosecutors failed to introduce evidence of text messages between Omotoso and the complainants and noted that no evidence of initial sexual assault reports — a standard practice in such cases — was presented.
Judge Schoeman noted that the complainants’ testimonies shared striking similarities. They described being captivated by a video of Omotoso allegedly healing a boy born without an oesophagus, being forced to massage his feet, and witnessing him pray for forgiveness after the alleged rapes. One complainant even testified that Omotoso told her, “A man of God cannot go to jail.”
However, the judge ruled that prosecutorial misconduct had severely compromised the weight of this evidence. By law, the NPA can only appeal an acquittal if they can prove the presiding judge or magistrate made an error in applying the law.
In its initial application for leave to appeal, the NPA argued that Judge Schoeman committed an error in law by failing to recognise the complainants’ similar testimonies as proof of a predatory pattern. However, Judge Schoeman dismissed this, ruling that the NPA’s arguments actually centred on questions of fact rather than questions of law — which legally barred them from launching an appeal.
Home Affairs probe
In the meantime, Omotoso has also been flagged by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) in its investigation into corruption at the Department of Home Affairs.
The SIU’s report made damning findings against Omotoso, including that he had used fraud and misrepresentation to gain entry into, and subsequent residence in, South Africa.
NPA spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said the NPA welcomed the order of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) granting leave to appeal. He declined to disclose the specific questions of law the State will raise in the appeal, likening the move to revealing one’s weapons before going to war.
“The NPA is aware that Mr Omotoso was deported by the Department of Home Affairs, but holds the view that once the Supreme Court of Appeal rules in the NPA’s favour in the appeal, he can be successfully extradited from Nigeria into South Africa,” said Kganyago.
/file/attachments/orphans/Nonku-Prosecutor_484276.jpg "File photo: Defence attorney Peter Daubermann for Omotoso, State prosecutors Nceba Ntelwa and Ishmet Cerfontein standing with the case files in the Port Elizabeth court. (Photo: Eugene Coetzee/The Herald)")
He said they knew where Omotoso was and would apply for his extradition if the NPA received a favourable outcome in its appeal.
The National Director of Public Prosecutions, advocate Andy Mothibi, commended the legal team. “The NPA’s legal prowess has ... been under scrutiny,” said Mothibi, “and this is an opportunity to have the full complement of five judges in the Supreme Court of Appeal to pronounce on the important principles of criminal law and the applicable test.
“This is a step in the right direction in pursuing justice for the victims of gender-based violence.”
In May, the minister of justice, Mmamoloko Kubayi, told Parliament that the Department of Home Affairs has agreed to waive a five-year ban on Nigerian evangelist Timothy Omotoso if the NPA wins its appeal, which would enable the prosecuting authority to apply for his extradition. DM