The Televised Rape Trial Of Controversial Pastor Timothy Omotoso Has Shocked South Africa

Televised trials of high-profile cases in South Africa have been lauded, but they have also received a fair share of criticism. The pending case of controversial Nigerian pastor Timothy Omotoso is an attestation to this: a witness was subjected to a lengthy, gruesome, intimate and aggressive cross-examination by the lawyer representing the 60-year-old pastor, and this has raised the anger of the public.

The witness, Cheryl Zondi, alleges that she was raped by the pastor from the age of 14. The pastor denies these allegations. In a country where more than 100 rape cases are reported to the police on a daily basis, this is the first prominent rape trial to be televised. It has elicited enormous interest, with the sensitive topics of victims' rights, impartiality and whether justice is best served by having television cameras in courtrooms being brought to the fore.

Located in the coastal city of Port Elizabeth, Mr. Omotoso's church was shut down over the weekend after angry crowds besieged the building. Cheryl Zondi, who is 22, faced death threats ahead of the trial. She led to evidence against Timothy Omotoso. 

Televised trials of high-profile cases in South Africa have been lauded, but they have also received a fair share of criticism. The pending case of controversial Nigerian pastor Timothy Omotoso is an attestation to this: a witness was subjected to a lengthy, gruesome, intimate and aggressive cross-examination by the lawyer representing the 60-year-old pastor, and this has raised the anger of the public.

The harsh treatment that Ms. Zondi was subjected to for three days in the witness box shows why many rape victims choose to remain silent in a nation infamous for notoriously high levels of sexual abuse, according to Ndileka Mandela, the grand-daughter of Nelson Mandela. Ndileka Mandela is a strong advocate of the global #MeToo movement.

"I really feel pain for this young woman and I am so proud to see how courageous she's been on the witness stand," Ms. Mandela told South Africa's Sunday Times newspaper. Jesus Dominion International Church is a growing evangelical ministry in South Africa, which thrives on the alluring promises of prophecies and miracles. Its head, Timothy Omotoso, and two female co-accused are facing 97 charges, ranging from sexual assault to rape and human trafficking. They are denying all of these charges.

Ms. Zondi gave some damning evidence against Omotoso. She said that the pastor, quoting the psalms and threatening God's anger if she did not comply, had allegedly repeatedly raped her a year after she had joined his church as a child. She got public sympathy for her bravery, but Omotoso's lawyer turned the tide against her, prompting a public backlash. 

As quoted by the BBC, the lawyer was aggressive. "You're a good actress," he said.

"I put it to you that you are lying about what happened to you.

"You were prepared to let him rape you?

"You basically consented?" he asked, referring to later alleged incidents when Ms. Zondi was an adult.

South Africa's legal system is adversarial, which means it is confrontational, with witnesses subjected to rigorous cross-examination, but Omotoso's lawyer took it too far. "How many centimetres? Do you know?" he asked Ms. Zondi after she had described how the pastor had allegedly partially penetrated her, at the age of 14.

In the midst of cries and shouts in the courtroom, the judge came to Ms. Zondi's rescue.

"How would she know that?" Judge Mandela Makaula interrupted, with anger visible on his face.

"She could have felt it," suggested Mr. Daubermann.

"And measured it at the same time? No. I will not allow that question," declared the judge, who went on to thank Ms. Zondi for her testimony and to wish her good luck in the university exams she had interrupted in order to attend the trial.

"This is not about you. This is about justice," he told her.

"Cheryl has set a precedent and we can only pray other victims will be encouraged by this. We salute her," a local spokesman for the National Prosecuting Authority told journalists.

Mr. Omotoso's lawyer has decided to ironically claim the moral high ground, justifying his actions towards the witness. "You aligned yourself with her cause. You have already accepted her version," Mr. Daubermann told Judge Makaula, arguing that the trial should start again from scratch, and bitterly condemning the media coverage of the case and the social-media frenzy it has triggered."

"I've been vilified in the media for my cross-examination. I've been accused of adopting questionable methods of examination. That is blatantly false. I have to test the veracity of the evidence. I can't allow sensibilities to get in the way of my duty," said the lawyer after he had been followed and harangued on the street outside the courthouse by an angry crowd." On the basis of an application that lacks merit, the judge has refused to recuse himself.

Televised trials have been praised for highlighting the South African legal system to the public. But they have been weighed down on the ground that television cameras in the courtroom put unfair pressure on the parties involved and thus the whole process becomes distorted. A high-profile case that first got television attention was the Oscar Pistorius trial. It has been said this trial could inflame xenophobic attitudes towards Nigerians.