Port Elizabeth - The case against a Nigerian pastor charged with human trafficking and rape is back in the Port Elizabeth High Court.
Judgment is expected in the Port Elizabeth High Court on Tuesday in two applications brought by lawyers representing rape and human trafficking accused Nigerian pastor Timothy Omotoso.
Judge Mandela Makaula is expected to hand down judgment on leave to appeal his refusal to recuse himself, as well as his refusal to quash the charges against Omotoso and his alleged accomplices Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho.
The defence has already indicated that it wants the matter to be heard in the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein. If the applications are not granted, they plan to petition the SCA directly.
The Nigerian pastor faces 63 main charges and 34 alternative counts, which include human trafficking, rape, sexual assault, racketeering, and conspiracy in aiding another person to commit sexual assault.
His two alleged henchwomen, Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho are accused of recruiting girls from all over the country for purposes of sexual exploitation.
The 58-year-old televangelist allegedly trafficked more than 30 girls and women who were from various branches of his church to a house in Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal, where he allegedly sexually exploited them.