Controversial televangelist pastor Timothy Omotoso was released after a closed session in the East London magistrate’s court on Tuesday.
Omotoso was arrested early on Saturday for allegedly contravening the Immigration Act and was held at the Mdantsane police station after a deportation order was opened against him.
When an official broke the news of his release to people outside the court, tempers flared between Omotoso congregants and those against his stay in the country, and police had to maintain order.
Songs and slogans of “Omotoso, this world is yours” were sung in celebration of his release. Supporters refused to comment to the media.
The details surrounding the pastor's release are unknown as the media were barred from court proceedings.
Home affairs spokesperson Siya Qoza said the department had noted Omotoso’s release from custody. He was unable to provide details on the latest developments, only stating the department would read and consider its position once the written judgment was available.
SABC reports he was released because of a failure by the authorities to bring him to court within 48 hours of his arrest which expired at 7am on Monday. Omotoso appeared in court at 2pm on Monday afternoon.
The deportation proceedings come as National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson advocate Mthunzi Mhaga said provincial director of public prosecutions Barry Madolo would appeal against the April 2 judgment.
Omotoso and his two co-accused were acquitted by judge Irma Schoeman in the Gqeberha high court on charges including rape, sexual assault and human trafficking.
Mhaga said: “This decision follows a thorough consideration of the matter by an NPA internal team of experienced prosecutors, as well as a legal opinion sourced from senior counsel.
“The decision could not be rushed due to the complexity of the matter and the voluminous transcript that needed to be interrogated.
“The NPA takes the view there are reasonable prospects of a successful appeal despite the complexities of the legal process.”
He said the first step was to request the judge to clarify factual findings.
The relevant papers were filed with the Gqeberha high court registrar on Monday.
“Once a clarification of the factual findings is received from the judge, the NPA’s legal team will finalise the papers on the reservation of questions of law and file this application with the registrar of the high court.
“While in our appeal we maintain the judge erred in certain of her findings, the Omotoso judgment has had a tragic effect on the victims involved and seriously dented confidence in the NPA and the justice system to address sexual and gender-based (SGBV) violence matters.
“Though this judgment has been a setback, it should not detract from the important support the NPA and its partners provide to victims of SGBV, including in the most complex cases.”
BCM chaplain Pam Daweti said they were disappointed that Omotoso had been released after his arrest on immigration matters.
Daweti said the laws of SA were failing its people.
“We will ensure we invite all community members and all the structures to be involved so the government knows enough is enough.”
She said people did not feel safe, and Omotoso’s victims were emotional about the outcome of the two cases.
Provincial ANC Women’s League spokesperson Nomakhosazana Nongqayi said: “We are here to say to the government that Omotoso must go home. We do not understand our justice system.
“Even though this is in the public interest, we do not know what happened during the proceedings.”
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