State prepping to argue appeal against Omotoso acquittal in open court, reveals Batohi

CAPE TOWN - National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) head Shamila Batohi says the State is preparing to argue its first step in the appeal against the judgement in the Timothy Omotoso human trafficking and sex crimes trial in open court.

Batohi has revealed in Parliament that in an unprecedented move, Judge Irma Schoeman has asked the State to make oral arguments in its appeal seeking clarity on the factual findings of the judgement.

The Nigerian pastor was acquitted in April after nearly eight years in court, leaving the country shortly afterwards.

Batohi has told Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) on Wednesday that while the case had been a setback in the fight against gender-based violence (GBV) cases, all is not yet lost.

Batohi has been facing increasing pressure to step down following the acquittal of Omotoso, and the court’s criticism of the conduct of prosecutors in the case.

The NPA launched an appeal in May and Batohi has on Wednesday told Parliament that there’s been movement in the case.

“Quite unusually, the judge has now asked that we actually argue this matter in court, which has never been done before.”

Batohi said only once the factual findings have been clarified, will the NPA be able to take the next step to outline the legal basis for its appeal.

“I would urge that we wait until the appeal to then decide whether the prosecutors in fact botched the matter.”

Batohi said a prosecutor involved in the Omotoso case was subsequently removed from another high-profile matter involving Fort Hare University.

Batohi said the Omotoso acquittal has overshadowed all the good work the NPA has done to achieve convictions in sexual crime cases.