Omotoso trial postponed after Daubermann requests to centralise charges

The trial of rape-accused pastor Timothy Omotoso was postponed to Tuesday due to a request to centralise the charges faced by Omotoso and his co-accused, Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho.

Judge Irma Schoeman will decide on whether to allow all charges against the trio to be heard in the Port Elizabeth High Court following Omotoso’s defence Peter Daubermann’s objection on the jurisdiction of the court on the matter.

Daubermann questioned whether the court had the authority to preside over the alleged offences in areas that were outside the city.

Seven of the charges are alleged to have occurred in Port Elizabeth while the rest, which include sexual abuse and human trafficking, are alleged to have happened across the country and abroad. The court heard how some of the alleged offences occurred in Secunda, KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape, as well as Mpumalanga.

Judge Schoeman is expected to provide a ruling on a request to centralise all the charges and have the offences heard in the PE court. She will consider arguments raised by the state as well as Daubermann regarding the centralisation and jurisdiction at 2pm on Tuesday.

The trio, who briefly appeared in court on Monday, are expected to plead not guilty to some of the charges alleged to have taken place in Port Elizabeth but not to others, as they may not fall under the jurisdiction of the Port Elizabeth High court.

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