The new trial of controversial Nigerian pastor, Timothy Omotoso and his two accused finally got underway in the Port Elizabeth High Court on Monday morning.
They were first asked to plead and Omotoso and his co-accused Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho promptly pleaded not guilty to the more than 90 charges against them, which range from rape to sexual assault and human trafficking.
The State then called its first witness to the stand who waived her right to have her identity protected.
The 30-year-old Andisiwe Dike told the court how she joined Omotoso's church in May 2014 after her mother invited her.
Dike, who was looking for a job in Cape Town at the time, decided to move to East London to join the church - and testified that she 'fell over' when one of the Pastors prayed for her.
She says congregants were asked to come forward to share their testimonies and her mother went to the front to thank God for her return.
Dike says several people would testify about miracles and highlighted the story of one mother whose child was born without an anus or oesophagus.
The mother told the church how her child was healed during one of Omotoso's crusades.
The SABC brought an application to broadcast proceedings live but Judge Irma Schoeman dismissed the application due to the sensitive nature of the case.
