Nigerian Pastor Omotoso rearrested
On Saturday, Timothy Omotoso, Nigerian televangelist, recently acquitted of multiple rape charges, was rearrested by South African police for alleged immigration violations.
Omotoso, 66, who leads the Jesus Dominion International (JDI) church, was taken into custody by police and immigration authorities in the town of East London shortly after conducting a church service, according to South Africa’s Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola.
“He will be facing charges related to violations of the Immigration Act, and he will appear in court on Monday,” Masemola told reporters.
The controversial pastor was initially arrested in 2017 and faced 32 charges, including rape, sexual exploitation, and human trafficking.
AFP reports that several young women, some of them minors at the time, testified that Omotoso abused them under the guise of spiritual healing and would ask for divine forgiveness following each assault.
Meanwhile, last month, the Eastern Cape High Court acquitted Omotoso and two of his co-accused, citing prosecutorial mishandling and lack of sufficient evidence.
However, Judge Irma Schoeman acknowledged the improbability of Omotoso’s defense but said the state failed to meet the burden of proof.
The verdict generated national outrage in South Africa, a country grappling with one of the highest rates of gender-based violence globally.
More than 42,500 rapes were reported in the 2023-24 financial year — an average of 116 rapes per day — according to official police data.
