From drum majorettes outside the Port Elizabeth High Court to policewomen who had to be forcibly removed and defendants refusing to plead – televangelist rape-accused Timothy Omotoso’s long-awaited trial has degenerated into a public spectacle.
In court on Tuesday, the Nigerian pastor and his two coaccused – Lusanda Sulani, 36, and Zukiswa Sitho, 28 – refused to plead to any of the 63 main and 34 alternative charges because they had still not been properly informed of the charges they faced.
“The reason why they have refused to plead is because we are still maintaining that [my clients] have not been informed of the charges against them with sufficient information to respond,” their lawyer, Peter Daubermann, said.
Before Omotoso, of the Jesus Dominion International church, and his co-accused stubbornly refused to plead, onlookers outside the court were bemused by a full drum majorette team twirling batons and marching in support of the man most call “Daddy”.
Omotoso himself put on quite a show – arriving in court in an outfit that was an almost exact replica of a costume worn by The Beatles’ Paul McCartney on the cover of the Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album.
His latest ostentatious outfit appeared to reference the British band and the birthday on Tuesday of the group’s singer and songwriter, John Lennon.
Before the trial officially started late on Tuesday afternoon, a fracas broke out in the court building when two off-duty policewomen were thrown out after they entered without signing in at the checkpoint, using their police appointment certificates to get in and thereby avoiding being searched.
According to a court official, who did not want to be named, security officials became suspicious when one of the women sat next to Omotoso’s wife, Taiwo, in the public gallery. The investigating officer was then informed and the women were asked to leave.
A confrontation between one of the women and police officers outside the courtroom led to the woman being forcibly removed.
She kicked and hit the police officers as she was being carried out.
The court official confirmed that the two women were members of Omotoso’s church.
Space at the court is at a premium, with scores of Omotoso’s devotees turning up to support him as he stands trial for human trafficking and rape.
Court officials are only allowing 50 people into the public gallery.
Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu confirmed that the policewomen were removed from the court after being questioned by the investigating officer.
“The two constables apparently arrived at the court earlier, produced their appointment certificates and informed security that they were there as ‘protocol observers’. They were allowed into the court.
“However, the security reported the matter to the investigating officer who then questioned them,” Naidu said.
“They were removed from the court by uniformed officials. Supporters followed them out and there was a commotion outside the court room.
“The two police constables were taken away by the supporters. The incident is being investigated internally.”
While there was some confusion over what a protocol observer was, the court official said that once outside the building the women had told police officers they were protocol observers for the church, which might be construed as a misrepresentation and conflict of interest.
Omotoso was arrested in April 2017 at the Port Elizabeth airport.
He, along with Sulani and Sitho, faces a litany of charges, ranging from racketeering to sexual assault, rape and human trafficking.
Most of the crimes were allegedly committed across the country, including in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban and Bloemfontein, and further afield – in Israel and Nigeria.
Omotoso has applied unsuccessfully for bail numerous times.
The alleged offences took place between 2009 and 2017, with some of the complainants just 13 years old.
Sulani and Sitho were each granted R2,000 bail in December.
On Monday, Omotoso’s legal team lost their bid to have the charges against him quashed, with judge Mandela Makaula saying he would give the reasons for his decision at the end of the trial.
The trial hit another snag on Tuesday when it emerged that the equipment used to record court proceedings was not working.
Makaula stood the matter down while a technician was called in to fix the equipment.
When the proceedings eventually got under way, it took state prosecutor advocate Nceba Ntelwa nearly 2½ hours to read out the full list of 97 charges against the three accused.
They all refused to plead to the charges, with Sulani refusing to plead to charges of human trafficking, rape and sexual assault linked to offences which allegedly took place in Israel and Nigeria, on the grounds that the court did not have the jurisdiction to prosecute her.
Daubermann told the court that although his clients might want to enter a plea explanation, they could not do so because the state had not furnished them with enough particulars of the charges to enable them to respond.
This, he said, might include providing an alibi or an alternative defence.
The state is expected to call its first witness on Wednesday.
- Additional reporting Gareth Wilson