Omotoso claims he's being treated 'inhumanely' behind bars in SA
Nigerian televangelist Timothy Omotoso who is accused of grooming young girls for sex claims he is the victim of inhumane treatment by authorities in South Africa.
The controversial pastor’s bail hearing resumed in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
Police have separated those supporting and opposed to . Crowds have been gathering at the court during his appearance 📹
— HeraldLIVE (@HeraldPE)
The court heard allegations that he had recruited as many as 25 young women and girls‚ some as young as 13‚ from around the country to take part in sexual acts. The alleged victims attended his church.
The 58-year-old‚ who is a father of three‚ is head of a Durban-based church. He is facing human trafficking and sexual violence charges.
newspaper in Nigeria reported that he had sent a letter‚ signed by his lawyer‚ to Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs‚ Khadija Bukar Abba Ibrahim‚ complaining about his arrest and detention.
The letter complained that he was arrested “commando style by the South African police force and swooped on like a terrorist” at the airport in Port Elizabeth.
“They made him sleep on the bare floor without a mattress with the cold temperature. Attempts made by the family to give him a blanket just to give him the barest comfort were refused by the prison officials‚” said the letter.
The Sunday Times reported at the weekend that Omotoso was struggling to deal with his incarceration.
“He is not doing very well. He is not allowed to shave and only his wife and his lawyers are allowed to visit him. Members of the church are not allowed to visit him. Every time we query this we are told that it is on the instructions of the Hawks‚” his attorney, Alwyn Griebenow, said.
The pastor was arrested after details about his alleged activities with young women were revealed by the SABC’s Special Assignment.
There was some tension between those supporting and opposing outside PE Magistrate's Court 📹
— HeraldLIVE (@HeraldPE)