Nigerian televangelist Timothy Omotoso has been deported from South Africa.
The 66-year-old pastor departed the country yesterday via Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport, en route to Nigeria. Online videos show Omotoso at the airport wearing a grey hoodie and sunglasses while speaking with an immigration official.
In April, Omotoso was acquitted of 32 charges, including rape, sexual exploitation, and human trafficking, after spending eight years in prison.
Several young women had accused him of luring them to his home in Umhlanga, a town in South Africa, where they alleged he sexually abused them.
However, Judge Irma Schoeman ruled that the prosecution failed to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. She criticized the state’s handling of the trial, stating that the cross-examination of the accused was so inadequate it appeared “as if cross-examination never even took place.”
The acquittal sparked widespread criticism across South Africa.
Omotoso is the senior pastor of Jesus Dominion International, headquartered in Durban. He also founded Tim Omotoso Global Outreach and the Ancient of Days Broadcasting Network.
He was re-arrested recently in South Africa for allegedly violating immigration laws, leading to his eventual deportation.
