High Court Dismisses NPA Bid To Appeal Timothy Omotoso Acquittal

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has suffered a major setback after the High Court in Gqeberha dismissed its request for leave to appeal the acquittal of Nigerian pastor Timothy Omotoso.

The ruling, delivered on Friday, closes the door on the NPA’s immediate attempt to overturn the judgment that cleared Omotoso and his two co-accused of dozens of charges, including rape, human trafficking and racketeering.

Earlier this year, Omotoso and co-accused Lusanda Solani and Zukiswa Sitho walked free after being acquitted of 63 charges. Before escalating the matter to a higher court, prosecutors were required to obtain permission from the High Court — a request that has now been denied.

Court’s Reasoning And Defence Pushback

SurgeZirc SA previously reported that defence lawyer Peter Daubermann argued the NPA’s application stemmed from “a fundamental misunderstanding of the verdict and of what constitutes a factual finding in law”.

Judge Irma Schoeman, who presided over the trial, had ruled in April that the state failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. She also found several key witnesses unreliable, a decision that formed part of the NPA’s challenge.

The complainants had alleged sexual abuse masked as religious mentorship within the Jesus Dominion International Church, led by Omotoso.

State Lists Key Issues It Wants Tested On Appeal Against Timothy Omotoso

Despite the setback, the NPA may still petition the Supreme Court of Appeal directly.

In its application, the state argued that the case raised “issues of significant public interest”, particularly regarding how courts should interpret evidence involving multiple complainants. Prosecutors asked the court to reserve six “questions of law” for potential appeal.

These included whether the trial court correctly:

Assessed and weighed the evidence;

Made the necessary factual findings;

Handled similar-fact evidence intended to show a pattern of predatory behaviour;

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Applied the legal elements of racketeering;

Addressed accusations of prosecutorial misconduct;

Dismissed some complainants’ testimonies for lacking corroboration when supporting evidence existed.

The High Court’s rejection leaves the NPA with one remaining option — taking its fight to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

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