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Televangelist Timothy Omotoso and his two co-accused Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho appearing in the Gqeberha High Court, January 22, 2025.
The Commission for Gender Equality says the outcome of the rape and human trafficking case against televangelist Timothy Omotoso and two others is discouraging to individuals who want to report sexual assault and gender-based crimes.
On Wednesday, the High Court in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape acquitted Omotoso, Lusanda Sulani, and Zukiswa Sitho after finding them not guilty on all charges.
They faced 32 charges, including rape, human trafficking, and racketeering.
The court found that the state failed to prove Omotoso’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The commission’s chairperson, Advocate Nthabiseng Sepanya-Mogale says, “It is a serious indictment for three people to be charged with 32 crimes and none of those can stick. So you must remember it started with 63 and went to 32; now it’s zero. So it’s one who will want to go with one charge in the future. Who will want to actually believe that with these one or two charges they will be able to get justice for themselves in the courts?”
WATCH: ‘Prosecution’s handling of Omotoso case must have been disturbing for judge’s comment on it’
