Eastern Cape deputy director of prosecutions Barry Madolo has defended the handling of Nigerian televangelist Timothy Omotoso’s case, saying the lawyers were some of his best prosecutors who have won many complex cases.
In an interview with the Daily Dispatch, Madolo did not rule out the possibility of appealing against the judgment, which saw Omotoso acquitted of all the charges.
Omotoso, 63, who is the leader of the Jesus Dominion International Church, and his co-accused and church members Lusanda Sulani, 41, and Zukiswa Sitho, 33, were found not guilty on 32 charges including rape and human trafficking.
Delivering the judgment earlier in April, judge Irma Schoeman found that they were not guilty due to technicalities, mainly that the former prosecutors in the case had acted improperly and the accused had not been sufficiently cross-examined by the state.
“I feel very bad about the whole matter,” Madolo said.
“This case has been on for eight years and we had hopes that we were going to win it as we had everything pointing to this as a winnable case.
“But, unfortunately, the outcome is what it is. We respect the decision of the judge.
“We have received a copy of the judgment and are busy studying it.
“We will decide after we have properly read the judgment. But to be honest I am not happy.
“I thought we had a good case, I thought we put up a good fight.”
He said the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) was not “going to take this lying down”.
“We are still going to fight on. This is not the end. There is a great possibility to appeal. We are going to craft our move properly.”
Though the case had taken eight years, Madolo said, the appeal would take less time.
Despite his prosecutors having been given a dressing-down by the judge about how they had handled the case, Madolo said he still had confidence in them.
“These are my soldiers,” he said.
“They remain some of my best soldiers that I can field, because I know the strength of my army.
“They have won many complex cases. They have [won] several life-imprisonment sentences.
“It would be unfair for me to say my people have failed.
“I have heard comments that the NPA messed up the case.
“The comments show that people forget our conviction rate is about 80% to 85%. People forget that people get life imprisonment every day.
“Even on the sad day of the acquittal of Omotoso, some people got life imprisonment by other courts.
“To judge the NPA based on certain individual cases is not correct, compared with many individual cases that we won.”
Madolo emphasised that the NPA neither convicted nor acquitted people.
Instead it presented facts, and the decision at the end of the day lay with the judge or magistrate.
“My heart bleeds for the witnesses sacrificed by appearing in court, by being exposed to cross-examination.
“I feel bad that they find themselves in a situation where the accused are acquitted. But we will deal with when we are on the next step.”
Despite the court’s ruling, the young women maintain that Omotoso violated them and say they are determined to continue sharing their truth.
The acquittal has shocked the nation amid the surge of gender-based violence against women and children in SA.
The ruling was passed while South Africans stood in solidarity for Cwecwe, a seven-year-old who was allegedly raped in Matatiele while waiting for her school transport.
Daily Dispatch
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.