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Nigerian pastor acquitted of rape after eight years in South African jail

Timothy Omotoso, wearing a brown blazer, stares at the camera.Getty Images

Wedaeli Chibelushi

BBC News

After spending eight years in jail, a Nigerian televangelist accused of raping young women from his South African church has been found not guilty of all charges.

Timothy Omotoso had denied the 32 charges in a trial that was broadcast live and gained huge interest across the country.

In 2018, one witness told the court she had been raped by the pastor - who ran a church in the city of Port Elizabeth - when she was 14 years old.

When delivering the verdict on Wednesday, the judge presiding over the trial said that Mr Omotoso had been found not guilty because prosecutors had mishandled the case.

South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) shared a similar assessment, saying that "former prosecutors in the case acted improperly and the accused were not sufficiently cross-examined by the state".

The NPA said it will now "consider its legal options".

For his part, Mr Omotoso told the media he thanked God for the verdict.

Hi co-accused, Lusanda Sulani and Zikiswa Sitho, were also found not guilty.

Mr Omotoso was dramatically arrested at an airport in 2017 as he sought to leave the country.

His trial was the first prominent rape case to be broadcast live in a country where sexual violence is rampant.

The hearings attracted huge interest, and raised difficult questions about victims' rights, impartiality and whether justice is best served by having television cameras in courtrooms.

Following Wednesday's verdict, Mr Omotoso will be deported to Nigeria, South African media outlet News24 reported.