PASTOR Timonty Omotoso has approached the Port Elizabeth High Court to apply for leave to appeal his bail denial.
This after he was denied bail on Wednesday.
Delivering his judgment, Judge Philip Zilwa ruled that the defence failed to present any new evidence.
He said Omotoso was a flight risk as he, his wife and son were prohibited immigrants. If his wife and son were to be deported, he would have no family ties in this country. The 62-year-old televangelist has been in detention since 2017 after he was bust at the Port Elizabeth International Airport.
He and his co-accused, Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho, who are out on bail, face charges of human trafficking, rape and sexual assault.
During the appeal hearing yesterday, Omotoso’s lawyer Peter Daubermann argued that Zilwa erred in his judgment.
“There’s no evidence that the applicant threatened any witnesses.
“This court erroneously decided that the applicant would interfere or witnesses,” said Daubermann.
“The court committed numerous fundamental errors by stating that some of the facts submitted by the applicant are not new facts.
“The court picks and chooses facts to justify a bail application refusal. The court failed to bring balanced judgment. The judgment is one-sided. It failed to consider all the evidence before this court.
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“My client is not receiving a fair trial and it was unfair for this court to dismiss his bail application.”
“It was wrong for this court to declare the applicant to be a prohibited immigrant. This court discriminated against the applicant because he is a prohibited person, he has the right to be released on bail according to the Constitution.”
Omotoso’s bail application continues tomorrow.