Prosecution's failure in rape case is a shameful fiasco

Rape is a very difficult crime to prove in a court of law. More often than not, it is a classic case of “she said, he said”, usually between people well known to each other or at the very least acquainted.

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Given the nature of the crime - a violent attack - public sentiment, and rightly so, tends to lie with the victim. It is the right thing to do that when a woman cries rape, we all should believe her. The onus then shifts to the police to prove, with the help of the prosecution team that the crime did take place.

We are hammering on this on the back of the not-guilty verdict returned by the honourable Eastern Cape Division of the High Court in Gqeberha in the rape and human trafficking case of charismatic televangelist Pastor Timothy Omotoso, a senior pastor of the Jesus Dominion International and two co-accused Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho.

The Nigerian clergyman had been on trial on and off since his arrest in Gqeberha in 2017, and the matter had to be started afresh as the process was marred by misconduct by the prosecution.