Timothy Omotoso, a Nigerian pastor based in South Africa, has been deported after being cleared of rape and other serious charges that had kept him in jail for eight years.
The 66-year-old televangelist was seen at OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg on Sunday, dressed in a grey hoodie and sunglasses, as he spoke briefly with an immigration officer before boarding a flight back to Nigeria, a dramatic end to a saga that has stirred both legal and emotional debates across South Africa.
Omotoso, who is the head of Jesus Dominion International Church in Durban and also runs the Tim Omotoso Global Outreach, was arrested in 2017 after several young women accused him of luring them to his house in Umhlanga under the guise of religious mentorship, where he allegedly manipulated and abused them.
However, in April 2025, Judge Irma Schoeman ruled in Omotoso’s favour, stating that the prosecution had failed to prove the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt, criticising the state’s handling of the case, particularly its failure to cross-examine the accused thoroughly, which made it difficult to find the truth.
The ruling sparked national outrage as women’s rights groups, legal experts, and survivors of gender-based violence expressed disappointment, calling it a setback in the fight for justice for abused women.
“For survivors of sexual violence, this outcome is a painful reminder of how the system often fails those who come forward, and the fact that he’s now being deported quietly only adds to the feeling that this case was never truly about justice,” said Thuli Maseko, a Durban-based gender activist.
Though Omotoso walked free in April, his troubles weren’t over as he was rearrested for breaching South Africa’s immigration laws, just days after his acquittal.
Authorities have not publicly disclosed the exact violation, but declared him a “prohibited person,” meaning he was no longer legally permitted to remain in the country.
