‘Pastor of God’ faces 22 charges of sexual assault and trafficking

Controversial Nigerian televangelist and pastor Timothy Omotoso, who is facing charges of sexual assault and human trafficking, is building a church in Umhlali.

The local branch of Omotoso’s Jesus Dominion International (JDI) Church is being built behind the existing Methodist Church, with a temporary tent structure already in place and apparently holding services.

Omotoso (58) was arrested in Port Elizabeth in April, initially facing two charges each of sexual assault and human trafficking, which soon rose to 22 charges as more people came forward.

He is accused of taking advantage of women and young girls from his churches by luring them to his luxury home in Umhlanga where he allegedly sexually assaulted them. Some of the girls were reportedly as young as 13.

“They are making a lot of noise, at times it sounds like we’re trying to sleep next to a taxi booming music. They hold services at different times on different nights and we never know how long they are going to last.”

She said that several homeowners have called the police to complain about the noise but with no result.

Another local, who asked to remain anonymous, said the noise from the church woke him up in the early hours of the morning from nearly a kilometre away.

Signs at the entrance to the construction site say that Opigyn Trading is the main contractor. However, Opigyn’s Prakashen Naidoo told The Courier that they hadn’t been the contractor since December 2016.

“The church contacted us to say that they would handle the construction internally with their own contractor.”

During Omotoso’s bail hearing in PE, Hawks investigating officer Peter Plaatjies said the girls were targeted because of their vulnerable backgrounds.

Plaatjies said JDI recruiters lured the young girls into the church. They would be taken to a JDI mission house in Durban and allegedly pressured into performing sex acts with Omotoso, who is a father of three. Omotoso denies these allegations, saying that the girls were housed there as members of a JDI choir.

Umhlali SAPS spokesperson warrant officer Vinny Pillay said there were no cases against Omotoso originating in our area. “If they are making excessive noise at unreasonable hours, call the police or Dolphin Coast crime prevention and we will go warn them to keep the volume down,” said Pillay.

Meanwhile, the Methodist Church’s Reverend Kim Bishop said they were aware of the construction of the new church. “As a church community, we have no objections to another church meeting next door to us,” said Bishop.

“We have had friendly contact with some of the members and leaders of the new church in Umhlali but have had no dealings whatsoever with Pastor Omotoso.

“We have no direct knowledge of the facts of the case against him, beyond what has been reported in the media, but find the allegations deeply disturbing.”

The Courier was unable to reach the church for comment. JDI Church has branches across SA as well as several international chapters.

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