Omotoso banned from SA for five years

JOHANNESBURG - The Department of Home Affairs is yet to confirm how controversial Nigerian televangelist Timothy Omotoso rigged the system after he was flagged for holding fraudulent documents, raising further questions about the country’s border controls.

The pastor, who is at the centre of an immigration scandal, left South Africa for Nigeria on Sunday.

Omotoso was rearrested in the Eastern Cape last week and hauled before the East London Magistrates Court on immigration charges, but he walked free after Home Affairs failed to lay charges within the required 48 hours.

He’s now been declared an undesirable person and banned from re-entering South Africa for the next five years. 

Omotoso’s immigration woes run far deeper than first thought.

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When his name was run through the system, it flagged two serious offences: being in the country without valid documents and holding a fraudulent permit.

The charismatic preacher who once filled megachurches now leaves under a cloud, escorted out and warned not to return for at least five years.

He has the right to apply for a review of his ban in five years, but that process, according to Home Affairs, will be closely watched.

The head of immigration enforcement, Steven van Neel, said: "He was listed on the system for two transgressions, firstly, being in the country without valid documents, and secondly, for holding a fraudulent permit. These are the grounds that make his presence in South Africa illegal. We’ve issued him a notice, and we’ll be monitoring his movements closely.”

At the same time, Omoto's wife, Taiwo, remains in South Africa and is under investigation.