The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has granted the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) leave to appeal the acquittal of Timothy Omotoso and his co-accused on charges including rape and human trafficking.
Omotoso was arrested in 2017 following allegations that he sexually abused young congregants. In April 2025, the Gqeberha High Court acquitted all three accused after Irma Schoeman ruled that the State had failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
NPA spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said the State’s legal team filed “a comprehensive, legally sound application for leave to appeal” by invoking Section 319 of the Criminal Procedure Act.
He added that the legal process involved seeking clarification of the trial court’s factual findings before requesting that questions of law be reserved for consideration by the SCA.
National Director of Public Prosecutions Andy Mothibi welcomed the ruling, saying it gives the full bench of the SCA an opportunity to pronounce on “important principles of criminal law and the applicable test.”
Mothibi also described the decision as “a step in the right direction in pursuit of justice for the victims of GBVF.”
Although Omotoso has since been extradited to Nigeria after leaving South Africa in 2025, the NPA said he “can be successfully extradited” back to South Africa should the appeal succeed.
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