The State in the human trafficking trial of Nigerian pastor Timothy Omotoso did an about-turn in the Port Elizabeth High Court after it initially told the court it would hand over a new certificate authorising the centralisation of the charges but failed to do so on Monday.
State Advocate Nceba Ntelwa did not hand over a new certificate from the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) authorising centralisation of the charges but instead handed in to the court the original indictment emanating from the previous trial.
Ntelwa intends to use the old authorisation letter signed in April last year together with the original indictment which he argued allowed for the centralisation of the charges . Ntelwa argued that it was not necessary for the letter to contain a description of the charges against Omotoso and his co-accused Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho.
However, defence attorney Peter Daubermann argued that this was a new trial and the State could not rely on material used at the previous trial heard before Judge Mandela Makaula.
Daubermann argued that the letter was invalid.
Omotoso faces 63 main charges, including racketeering, human trafficking, rape and sexual assault.
Sulani and Sitho, are accused of recruiting girls from all over the country for purposes of sexual exploitation.
The case was postponed until Tuesday for the court to make a ruling on the validity of the certificate of jurisdiction.
-African News Agency (ANA),
