Judge Mandela Makaula has officially recused himself from the human trafficking trial involving Nigerian Pastor Timothy Omotoso and his two co-accused.
The matter will now start afresh on the 30th of July at the High Court in Port Elizabeth, with a new judge presiding over the matter.
In court on Friday morning, Judge Makaula set the record straight and said his decision to recuse himself did not relate to his reported ownership of a guesthouse, through a company, where certain of the state witnesses in the trial had been accommodated.
He told the court that it was, in fact, his wife who is the sole owner of the guesthouse.
Makaula further added that there was no application for him to recuse himself but that he had done so in the interest of justice.
The trial was then briefly taken over by Judge Selby Mbenenge who postponed the trial until July.
Defence attorney Peter Daubermann has asked the court to not allow the media to broadcast the trial live.
