Top Nigerian pastor, Omotoso deported from South Africa amid controversy over rape trial acquittal
Published By admin with Comments 0
Tim Omotoso, a Nigerian televangelist and founder of Jesus Dominion International (JDI) church, acquitted of raping young women has departed South Africa today, Sunday, May 18th, amid his rearrest on charges related to immigration violations.
TheNewsGuru reports that the department of home affairs immigration inspectorate in collaboration with the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) National Intervention Unit (NIU) and Tactical Response Team (TRT) had detained Omotoso, 66 on May 10th, in East London, Eastern Cape, shortly after concluding a church service.
“The National Commissioner of the SAPS, General Fannie Masemola, confirms the arrest of Televangelist Timothy Omotoso this morning in East London by the Department of Home Affairs Immigration Inspectorate together with the SAPS’ National Intervention Unit (NIU) and Tactical Response Team (TRT) on charges related to the Immigration Act. ML,” SAPS wrote in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).
In a short video posted on the SAPS platform, Fannie Masemola added, “He was arrested at 5 this morning in East London, when he was finishing at church.”
Omotoso’s rearrest is coming weeks after he was discharged and acquitted by the Eastern Cape High Court in April on 32 charges, including rape, human trafficking and racketeering.
However, a magistrate’s court later ordered his release, ruling that he could not be detained for more than 48 hours without formal charges.
In a video that surfaced social media on Sunday, Omotoso was seen at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport, dressed in a grey hoodie and sunglasses, engaging with immigration officials before boarding a flight to Lagos.
The Department of Home Affairs confirmed his departure and stated that he has been declared an undesirable person, barring him from re-entering South Africa for five years.
Content retrieved from: https://thenewsguru.com/news/top-nigerian-pastor-timothy-omotoso-deported-from-south-africa/.
