Home Affairs still reviewing controversial pastor Timothy Omotoso’s right to remain in SA

22 Apr 2025

Omotoso, who was acquitted in a botched prosecution of sexually assaulting young women in his church, has not been deported – despite what the National Prosecuting Authority said.

The Department of Home Affairs confirmed on Tuesday, 22 April that the controversial televangelist Timothy Omotoso was not deported from South Africa after his acquittal on charges of sexual assault, rape and human trafficking.

“No, the Department has not deported Timothy Omotoso. The Department has noted the public interest in the matter involving Omotoso. The issues relating to the status of Omotoso in South Africa are being reviewed by the Department, as directed by the court,” Home Affairs spokesperson Siya Qoza said.

Omotoso’s attorney, Peter Daubermann, said that while he no longer holds instructions to speak on his former client’s behalf, he can confirm that the pastor was released from prison and not rearrested to be deported.

“He walked off the premises a free man. To the extent that the National Prosecuting Authority has created the impression that Mr Omotoso was held in custody after his acquittal with a view to him being deported, the NPA has misled the public as this is false,” Daubermann said.

“I would have been advised had Mr Omotoso been rearrested and I suspect that he is still a free man. I don’t believe that the authorities even know where Mr Omotoso is at this stage.

“It is difficult to see how Home Affairs would be able to deport Mr Omotoso if they don’t even know his whereabouts.”

There were unconfirmed reports that Omotoso, who is from Nigeria, had left the country on his own steam, but Home Affairs has not yet answered questions about his legal status in South Africa.

The NPA has yet to comment on why it said he was to be deported following his acquittal.

Read more: Damning allegations made against NPA and prosecutor after televangelist Timothy Omotoso’s acquittal

On 2 April, Omotoso was found not guilty on 63 counts, including sexual assault and human trafficking.

The complainants in the case against him told the court that he had sexually assaulted them on several occasions. Judge Irma Schoeman, in a ruling highly critical of the NPA’s handling of the case, found Omotoso not guilty.

Among her findings were that the prosecuting team’s failure to cross-examine left the versions put forward by Omotoso and his co-accused unchallenged, as well as a lack of corroborating evidence put forward by the State.

Home Affairs ‘review’

In 2024, the Gqeberha High Court ruled on Omotoso’s legal status in the country. By then he had been in prison for seven years.

In his ruling, Judge Donovan Pitt said Omotoso’s visa application had been refused on 14 September 2020 and he was subsequently declared a prohibited person in terms of section 29 of the Immigration Act.

Omotoso’s trial was ongoing at the time.

He went to court to have both of those rulings by the Department of Home Affairs set aside. His legal team argued that Home Affairs was acting in bad faith and had refused all the applications Omotoso had made to them.

Omotoso’s legal team argued that the department was in cahoots with the NPA.

The court ordered that both decisions be reviewed by the department “within 30 days”. Home Affairs had agreed to this in July 2024, but Qoza said they were “reviewing” his residency status in accordance with the court’s ruling.

The decisions that had to be reviewed included Omotoso being declared a prohibited person, and whether his particulars were to be removed from the department’s visa and entry stop list.

NPA reviewing prosecution

Last week, speaking at the launch of the Phuthaditjhaba Thuthuzela Care Centre in the Free State, the national director of public prosecutions, Shamila Batohi, said there is no denying that the court’s decision in the Omotoso matter has had a devastating impact on the NPA’s fight against gender-based violence in the country.

“We cannot even begin to properly comprehend the impact on the most courageous victims in the matter. There has been understandably widespread outrage. As the NDPP, I understand this – we too have been left stunned by the judgment, to say the least.

“The Omotoso case is a very emotional matter that took about eight long years and required significant perseverance and courage by numerous victims and witnesses. I want to assure you that the NPA is accountable to the people of this country. We will leave no stone unturned to get to the bottom of what happened in this case,” she said.

Three interventions that had been instituted following Schoeman’s ruling were progressing.

“I have established a team led by the Special Director of Public Prosecutions: Sexual Offences and Community Affairs (SOCA) Unit, together with two seasoned prosecutors from outside the EC Division, supported by external Junior and Senior Counsel, to explore, in the immediate term, grounds to appeal the judgment.

“We are continuing the investigation into the conduct of the original team of prosecutors involved in the Omotoso matter. This investigation started in August 2024, with a view to identify, if necessary, disciplinary steps to be taken against persons involved.

“I have also established a second team led by the Special Director of Public Prosecutions: Sexual Offences and Community Affairs (SOCA) Unit and two prosecutors with extensive litigation experience to assess the performance of the prosecutors in the Omotoso matter in relation to case preparation, cross-examination techniques, and use of corroborating evidence, as raised by the trial judge.

“While devastated by the impact, we need to temper our response, first seeking to understand all the facts and respect legal processes,” she added.

Read more: NPA’s failure to convict Timothy Omotoso is the latest in a string of debacles

Shortly before the Easter weekend, at a briefing organised by the Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Rights Commission, the complainants in the case against Omotoso spoke out about their ordeal.

The young women said they considered themselves survivors and had broken their silence.

“We spoke our truth and we will continue standing by it,” they said. “The system has let us down and has failed us.

“We want to see justice being served – a proper investigation must take place. We have a lot of unanswered questions. The system has failed us dismally.” DM

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Home Affairs ‘review’

NPA reviewing prosecution