By Seyi Babalola
After eight years in prison, a Nigerian televangelist accused of raping young women in his South African church was found not guilty of all counts.
Timothy Omotoso disputed the 32 counts in a live trial that drew widespread attention across the country.
In 2018, one witness testified in court that she had been raped by the pastor, who headed a church in Port Elizabeth, when she was 14.
When announcing the decision on Wednesday, the trial judge stated that Mr. Omotoso was found not guilty because prosecutors 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 would now “consider its legal options” and that the drawn-out nature of the trial was partly down to Mr Omotoso filing numerous legal challenges.
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.