More than seven years after their arrest, the protracted rape and human trafficking trial of Nigerian Pastor Timothy Omotoso and his two co-accused has etched closer to being finalised.
On Wednesday, after the State and the defence presented their closing arguments, the Gqeberha High Court set a date for the judgment to be delivered.
Omotoso, 66, Zukiswa Sitho, 42, and Lusanda Sulani, 35, pleaded not guilty to all of the 32 charges brought against them by the State.
Defence attorney Peter Daubermann took aim at State Advocate Joel Cesar and his colleagues for how the State handled its cross-examination of the accused.
A similar concern was also raised by Judge Irma Schoeman.
Daubermann argued that the prosecution did not challenge his client's evidence, which, according to him, meant that the evidence was accepted and deemed correct.
According to Daubermann, the State's cross-examination was so limited that it amounted to no cross-examination at all.
He said it was never put to the accused that they were not credible, not telling the truth or what they were saying was improbable.
Daubermann said his clients were all good witnesses who did not contradict each other.
"Their evidence corroborated each other on material aspects.
"I would have called corroborating witnesses to testify if their evidence had been in dispute.
"It is not Your Ladyship's duty to try and extricate the State from the predicament they are in," he said.
Daubermann called for his client's acquittal, emphasizing that the State failed to prove their guilt beyond any reasonable doubt.
Schoeman told Cesar that the accused were not once cross-examined on the probabilities.
She said she was "amazed" and "shocked" at how the State's cross-examination went at the time.
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During his argument, Cesar said the only issue to be decided was whether the complainants were untruthful about being sexually assaulted and in some instances raped by Omotoso.
According to Cesar, it was also up to the court to determine whether Sitho and Sulani assisted with the recruitment and transportation of the complainants.
He argued that the complainant's evidence of how they joined Omotoso's Jesus Dominion International (JDI) church is similar, citing that they were "handpicked" by Omotoso.
The State is of the view that Omotoso manipulated some of the complainants' strong belief in the word of God to recruit and sexually assault them.
About the alleged sexual offences, Cesar said the complainants remained steadfast in their versions of what Omotoso allegedly did to them at the mission house as well as the role that Sitho and Sulani played.
Omotoso has been in custody for the past seven years while Sitho and Sulani are out on bail.
Judgment will be handed down on 2 April.
