The defence in the protracted rape and human trafficking trial of Nigerian Pastor Timothy Omotoso and his two co-accused has accused the former prosecution team of being unethical, dishonest, and corrupt.
Attorney Peter Daubermann made the utterance on Thursday when he brought an application before the court to declare the evidence of 11 state witnesses inadmissible.
Daubermann said the evidence against State Advocates Nceba Ntelwa and Ismet Cerfonteyn, who according to him had suborned witnesses to commit perjury, was damning.
According to Daubermann, the advocates attempted to mislead the court by presenting false evidence to obtain a conviction at all costs.
He slammed their "silence" stating that the evidence before court "cries out for them to come and explain themselves."
"The respondent does not deal with the facts that underlie the application. They have elected to adduce no evidence to disprove the facts set out by the applicants (the accused).
"Ntelwa and Cerfonteyn are corrupt prosecutors who lied to the court and put up a false case under oath.
"They are highly unethical, corrupt, dishonest perjurers who attempted to mislead this court
Advocate Chris Mouton SC said the first thing the court needs to determine was whether any evidence was obtained in a manner that violated the accused' fundamental rights, like the right to a fair trial.
He said it was only then that the Constitution provided that such evidence would be inadmissible.
Mouton said the applicants "stumbled over the first hurdle."
He told the court Daubermann's previous application for a mistrial centered around the evidence of Giyani (a state witness) that was brought about by a miscommunication between the two prosecutors on what Giyani had said.
Mouton further noted that the court did not find Ntelwa to be unethical, but rather that it could not accept his assurances.
"How is the fact that they were unsatisfactory witnesses linked to the alleged violation of the applicant's rights?" Mouton asked.
According to Mouton all of Daubermann's submissions about tainted evidence was a repeat of the application for a mistrial that he previously brought before the court.
Omotoso, Zukiswa Sitho and Lusanda Sulani face a litany of charges which include rape, human trafficking, and sexual assault.
Judge Irma Schoeman will deliver her ruling on 21 August.
