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Rape-accused Nigerian televangelist Timothy Omotoso is not giving up on his desperate bid for freedom and has now petitioned the Judge President of the Supreme Court of Appeal to overturn a decision to deny him bail and also for a mistrial to be declared.
The protracted trial was postponed on Tuesday to 31 October in the Gqeberha High Court.
Omotoso had previously petitioned the SCA and his application was dismissed, with the Appeal Court saying there was no reasonable prospect of success or compelling reason why an appeal should be heard.
The flamboyant televangelist, and his two co-accused Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho, face 63 charges and another 34 alternative charges, ranging from human trafficking, rape, and racketeering.
He has been in jail since his arrest on 20 April 2017, while Sulani and Sitho are out on bail.
On Tuesday, during a brief court appearance, all three accused were well dressed and appeared composed and confident while seated in the dock.
Some of their supporters were in court, occasionally whispering, while dozens more were outside the court building.
Should Omotoso's bid to petition the SCA Judge President fail, it's widely expected that the drawn-out matter will head all the way to the Constitutional Court.
This is the NPA's second attempt to prosecute Omotoso since his dramatic arrest at the then-Port Elizabeth International Airport (now Chief David Stuurman International Airport) more than five years ago.
