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Daily Maverick
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
NPA seeks clarity on Omotoso acquittal, defence objects to ‘fishing expedition'
As the State moves to appeal the acquittal of controversial pastor Timothy Omotoso, his legal team has accused the National Prosecuting Authority of abusing court processes by seeking clarification that they argue is aimed at retrospectively revising the judgment. As the State prepares to appeal the acquittal of Nigerian televangelist Timothy Omotoso, his defence counsel has branded their first step as a 'fishing expedition' and an attempt to have the judgment amended in favour of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). The NPA brought an application before the Gqeberha Division of the High Court for Judge Irma Schoeman to provide 'clarification' of the judgment that saw Omotoso acquitted on multiple charges of sexual assault and human trafficking. The application, brought before court on Monday, 14 July 2025, did not single out specific aspects of the judgment, but rather sought clarity on the factual findings of Judge Schoeman's entire judgment. This flies in the face of normal procedure as the prosecution has yet to provide its 'legal question' — the specific aspects of the judgment it does not agree with and believes another court might make a different ruling on. Senior State prosecutor Apla Bodlani SC indicated to the court that the State already had a strong basis for its appeal, but sought a better explanation from Judge Schoeman to 'satisfy [themselves] that [their] approach would be sustainable'. Omotoso and his co-accused, Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho, were not in court as their presence was not required for these proceedings. South African immigration authorities served the controversial pastor with a five-year ban from the country as he was flying out of OR Tambo International Airport in May. Omotoso's legal counsel Peter Daubermann called the State's application a 'retrospective fishing expedition' and an abuse of court processes in an attempt for the judge to revise her ruling. He said there was no legal mechanism that allowed for this course of action and accused the State of trying to 'reverse engineer a factual foundation' that would provide it with reasons to appeal. Omotoso, Sulani and Sitho were the subjects of an eight-year trial in which they were accused of multiple counts of sexual assault and human trafficking by members of Omotoso's Jesus Dominion International church. The trial was marred by controversy around the NPA's conduct, and in April Judge Schoeman acquitted them on all the charges. Judge Schoeman in her ruling cited flaws in the prosecution's case, including almost no cross-examination challenging the versions of the accused as well as a lack of corroborating evidence led by the State. Following his acquittal Omotoso embarked on a 'New Dawn crusade' in East London. But on the second last day of the April crusade he was arrested on immigration charges at a church where he was meant to preach. He was then declared a prohibited person. That status, however, stemmed not from the criminal proceedings, but from allegations that he had used fraudulent documentation to enter South Africa. During court proceedings on Monday, Daubermann further argued that Judge Schoeman was ' functus officio ', meaning she had completed her duties with regard to this matter. He said her judgment was final and she 'was not unclear or ambiguous'. 'If this application is entertained it will set a precedent, and an accused will never know if a judgment is final or not,' Daubermann said. Bodlani maintained that the intention of the application was not for Judge Schoeman to alter or supplement her judgment. He reiterated that after studying the judgment, the State was still unclear on what the factual findings were, and for it to better prepare their appeal, it required Judge Schoeman to provide clarity on her findings. The judge said she would need time to consider the opposing arguments, and that the judgment would be delivered on 22 July 2025. DM
IOL News
22-06-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Deadly floods expose Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane's chaotic leadership
Devastated Mthatha residents react as pathology services remove a body found in a flooded house. When the worst disaster struck, Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane shone in his absence, says the writer. Image: AFP Thamsanqa D. Malinga THE many lives lost in the Eastern Cape in wake of the severe weather that engulfed the province last week, and the country, should have never been. Had it not been for the ineptitude of Premier Oscar Mabuyane and his government, the disaster could have been minimised or averted and the families could have been spared the pain of double blow, losing property and loved ones. The Eastern Cape is the country's second largest province by land area and yet it is the country's poorest. The province has the highest unemployment rate. For years since the dawn of democracy this province has been South Africa's forgotten child. It has been the place where political ineptitude thrives. The province where avarice and corruption are the foundations of government. For the larger part of our democracy, as South Africans we have come to accept that service delivery and the Eastern Cape are just water and oil. Enter Oscar Lubabalo Mabuyane, the Eastern Cape seemed to disappear altogether from South Africa's map. The province 'vanished' into thin air. The only time it will resurface is when the premier or one of his officials is allegedly embroiled in a qualification scandal or some other controversy. Then the province would vanish again only to resurface when it hosts its provincial ANC Conference as it prepares a slate that will go to the National Conference of the mother body, to back another slate. Notice, nothing about anything developmental has been said in between its David Copperfield moments. It is no surprise that television exposè programme Cutting Edge has famously made itself popular by turning the province into its hunting ground for heart-wrenching stories. Stories of gripping poverty, unabated corruption and malfeasance. Stories of how people have been left in the periphery of non-being. Children crossing ravaging rivers in order to get to school, and families having to carry coffins across flooded rivers to bury loved ones whilst promises of a bridge are not kept for ages. I digress. Back to the disaster that has befallen the province. I was flabbergasted listening to the Premier's interview with the state broadcaster and how he spoke. He kept on pushing everything to some unknown helper that they have been waiting for assurance from. I have never seen a premier of a province, a man who has been at the helm for six years and one of the longest serving Premiers of President Ramaphosa's New Dawn, speaking like a ward councilor from some unknown village. Really now! Oscar Mabuyane was asked about the absence of divers for search and rescue in Umthatha and he waxed lyrical about one helicopter that is based in Gqeberha and how they have been asking for assistance for years and he went to Tarshish and got swallowed by a giant fish and all that and he prayed whilst inside the giant fish. It was such a sad story to listen to from the head of the province. I am saying it is a sad story because Mabuyane became premier of the Eastern Cape in the year of our Lord 2019. In 2020 just before we had COVID lockdown, the province was hit by floods. There were casualties recorded. Then came the 2021 festive season floods with its casualties. Again in 2022 torrential rains caused widespread destruction and damage, claiming the lives of 20 people, the highest at the time. In the six years Mabuyane has been the premier in this poorest and second largest province in the country, the Eastern Cape has been struck by natural disasters three times. When the worst disaster struck last week, the man shone in his absence only to emerge and spew diatribe on national television. It was embarrassing to watch. Disgusting, at least. Three natural disasters hit the province, yet there was no disaster management plan put in place. Even worse, the South African Weather Service had issued an alert way ahead that severe weather was inbound for eight provinces bar Limpopo. Mabuyane, like the forever absent Cameroonian president Paul Biya, together with his government had their head in the sand as we know them to be. He knew he had one helicopter, and still was not proactive to mobilise resources. He knew he had no divers and enough K9 units and didn't act. What was he doing? Where was he? Where was his government? Inside a fish on their way back from Tarshish? Had they ceded the province like they normally do only to return it at their whim? Oscar Lubabalo Mabuyane displayed the highest level of incompetence this time around. We have tolerated enough of his absence, ineptitude and that of his government. The Eastern Cape has had its fair share of bad leadership but Mabuyane's is just intolerable and it doesn't need nearly 100 lives to convince us as such. His Youth Day jamboree, at the beginning of the week, is what he knows best, garnering media attention as he dishes away hand-outs and singing his praises like some old African despot whose time has long run out and whose reputation could be saved by throwing frivolity at the poor. The people of the Eastern Cape are dying in squalor and drowning in torrential rains, bodies are still being picked up floating in Mthatha dam. People cannot afford to eat cake and be subjected to see dead bodies float by in nearby streams as the Premier and his Cabinet continue to administer the province in absentia from Mount Venus or inside the big fish supposedly taking them to Niniveh. Malinga is an Independent Political Commentator and author of "Blame Me on Apartheid" as well as "A Dream Betrayed"
Daily Maverick
01-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Pastor Omotoso continues legal battle over cancelled crusade venue, mayor's statements in East London
The Jesus Dominion International Church in East London and Pastor Timothy Omotoso are continuing legal action against the Buffalo City metro after mayor Princess Faku ordered the cancellation of their booking at the Orient Theatre, where Omotoso was scheduled to lead a 'New Dawn' crusade. Although Pastor Timothy Omotoso has since left South Africa, Stuart Laubscher, the Nelson Mandela Bay metro based lawyer representing The Jesus Dominion International Church in East London said he was still taking instructions from his client and intended to proceed with legal action against the metro and mayor Princess Faku over the cancellation and events leading up to Omotoso's departure from the country. In April, Omotoso was released from prison after Judge Irma Schoeman acquitted him on several charges of human trafficking and sexual assault. The charges stemmed from allegations by several young female congregants, who claimed Omotoso had sexually assaulted them in a church residence in Durban. Judge Schoeman ruled that the State had failed to prove its case, citing, among other issues, its failure to properly cross-examine Omotoso and his co-accused, Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho, and to lead corroborating evidence to strengthen the case of each witness. The National Prosecuting Authority has now taken the first steps to attempt to appeal this ruling and has asked for 'clarifications' on the ruling. Following his release from prison Omotoso relocated to East London where his church, Jesus Dominion International, was still active. At the beginning of May the church planned a 'New Dawn' crusade in the city led by Omotoso. For this purpose they rented the Orient Theatre in East London for R14,575. Faku, however, ordered that the booking be cancelled and said publicly that Omotoso wasn't welcome in the city. On 10 May, the second-last day of the crusade, Omotoso was arrested in a joint operation by immigration officials and the police pending his deportation. He was declared a prohibited person in South Africa. He was released from custody though to provide him with a chance to appeal this ruling, but then left the country of his own accord on 18 May. He has been banned from South Africa for five years and should he wish to return after that he must apply for his prohibition to be lifted, according to a statement by the Department of Home Affairs. Laubscher, however, said last week that Omotoso 'didn't have to leave South Africa' but did so of his own accord. He confirmed that he was awaiting instructions on how to proceed in taking legal action against the Buffalo City metro, for cancelling the church's booking and against Faku personally. He said in a letter that their case is that the municipality – including the mayor – acted outside the scope of its power by cancelling Jesus Dominion International's booking at the Orient Theatre and the church now wanted its deposit back. 'Pastor Omotoso was acquitted of all charges in the High Court in Gqeberha. The reason for his acquittal is at this stage of no importance or relevance. Under South African law he is innocent of all charges,' he said. 'The reason they advanced infringes upon our client's rights under the South African Constitution in various ways, which does not need any further explanation as it is glaringly obvious, including but not limited to their rights to religious freedom,' he added. He added that Omotoso's reputation was damaged by Faku's statements and the municipality's actions, and their contention was that the mayor and municipal officials have abused their power. 'There is a substantial claim against the municipality (and other parties) and we are just awaiting instructions to issue summons,' Laubscher said. In a letter addressed to the metro and Faku, Laubscher said the church's booking was cancelled without justification and this constituted a 'misuse of public office and authority'. 'The booking was paid for in full and received by the municipal officials in East London and was summarily cancelled by yourself and this constitutes a breach of contract,' the letter addressed to Faku reads. He added that his client wanted the reasons for the cancellation of the booking 'in writing and not via social media'.
Forbes
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Anoushka Shankar Curates Brighton Festival 2025: A Celebration Of Indian Art And Performance With Highlights Including Aakash Odedra Songs Of The Bulbul.
BF25 Guest Director Anoushka Shankar. Photo Credit Laura Lewis. BF25 Guest Director Anoushka Shankar. Photo Credit Laura Lewis. Anoushka Shankar, the Grammy-nominated renowned sitar virtuoso and composer, has taken the helm as Guest Director for the Brighton Festival 2025, bringing a rich tapestry of Indian art and performance to the forefront of this year's program. Her curation is themed around New Dawn and the program of diverse performances and artistic collaborations illuminates notions of transformation, renewal, and the interconnectedness of cultures. Brighton Festival is England's largest annual curated multi-arts festival and the 2025 edition features an eclectic multi-arts line-up curated by Shankar as a rallying cry for a more hopeful future. We are living through an era defined by conflict and unrest around the world, yet Shankar's theme of New Dawn invites performers at the festival to send a message of hope for our collective ability to heal and recover. Shankar's New Dawn festival program features seven world premieres including Wembley, written by Nikesh Shukla (The Good Immigrant) Nikesh Patel (Starstruck) and Himesh Patel (Yesterday) in the aftermath of the 2024 riots and a riveting programme of South Asian music, dance and performance including Meera Syal, Aakash Odedra, Aditya Prakash, Aruna Sairam and Arooj Aftab. Other highlights of the festival include evim [my home]. Ceyda Tanc is a Turkish-British choreographer who has presented two world premieres at Brighton Festival this year. Starring an all-female cast, Tanc's work explores the interplay between Turkish folk dance and contemporary UK culture. Tanc collaborated with childhood friend Natasha Granger to create evim as a magical interactive dance theatre piece for 0-5 year olds and their families. EVIM Ceyda Tanc Dance & Theatre Fideri Fidera, Brighton Festival 2025. EVIM Ceyda Tanc Dance & Theatre Fideri Fidera, Brighton Festival 2025. I was fortunate enough to witness Aakash Odedra's unforgettable dance performance Songs of the Bulbul at the Festival, which completely blew me away with his phenomenal energy and spirit. Songs of the Bulbul is a perfect fit for Shankar's theme of New Dawn and at its centre is a passionate dance performance that unfolds like poetry in motion. A moving meditation on life, death, and rebirth, it is at once deeply personal and universally resonant—an ode to Odedra's late mother, tenderly expressed through the character of a Bulbul (Persian for Songbird). Nightingales, or Bulbuls, are revered in Persian culture where their song represents a spiritual seeker looking for union with the divine. Aakash Odedra collaborated with choreographer Rani Khanam and musician Rushil Ranjan on Songs of the Bulbul, which is inspired by the ancient Sufi myth of a bulbul captured and held in captivity. The performance follows the experience of a Songbird–played by Odedra–who was bound ever closer and slowly died from a broken heart, emitting one last song before expiring. Odedra's magical performance tells the tale of beauty born out of loss and the freedom that can be found only through the ultimate sacrifice. The musical, dance and poetic traditions of Sufism are at the heart of this compelling new theatrical experience created by two of the world's leading Sufi Kathak artists. Odedra's epic dance performance combines the physicality of Kathak with the spiritual journey of Sufism on a quest to seeking unity with the Divine. Songs of the Bulbul, Aakash Odedra Company. Brighton Festival 25. Photo Credit Angela Grabowska Songs of the Bulbul, Aakash Odedra Company. Brighton Festival 25. Photo Credit Angela Grabowska Odedra inhabits this songbird with astonishing physicality, his fluid, soaring movements capturing both fragility and resilience. The performance is powerful and life-affirming, filled with visceral emotion that transcends the stage and invites the audience into a dreamlike realm. Beguiling and profound, Songs of the Bulbul is a rare work of dance that not only tells a story but also touches the soul. Odedra takes the audience on a mystical journey with his utterly mesmerising dance performance which emits so many emotions without any words. In Songs of the Bulbul, Odedra delivers a profoundly evocative performance and offers the audience an immersive experience steeped in grief, love, and spiritual transcendence. This new work is a deeply personal tribute to Odedra's late mother Kay—who he describes as his 'smiling bulbul who left her cage.' Through an eloquent fusion of movement and music, Odedra explores the fragile, soaring life of a songbird, using it as a metaphor for death, liberation, and the cyclical nature of existence. There is some reference in Odedra's performance to Whirling Dervishes of the Sufi order, who are known for their unique practice of whirling as part of religious ritual Sama. Also called Sufi whirling, the dance is a form of physical meditation and a way for dervishes to connect with God. Odedra takes the spirit of the Whirling Dervish and adapts it into a thoroughly contemporary dance performance which he puts his heart and soul into. From the moment he steps onto the stage, Odedra becomes the bulbul. His body channels both the anguish and the beauty of a creature caught between worlds. Every glide, every turn of his hand, pulses with emotion. His kathak-infused movements—rooted in the classical Sufi tradition—are not mere technical displays, but living, breathing expressions of longing, resistance, and ultimate surrender. At times he seems almost weightless, caught in a dance that feels like prayer; at others, his body twists in raw anguish, echoing the pain of loss and the yearning for transcendence. The performance is notable for its absence of spoken word. Yet in that silence, a story of immense depth unfolds—one of life, death, and eventual rebirth. Odedra guides the audience through these spiritual and emotional realms with the grace of a seasoned storyteller. The music, rich with Indian classical and devotional tones, acts as a second voice—an aural current upon which Odedra's movements sail. The rhythm of the tabla, the lament of string instruments, and the undercurrent of poetic chant form a symphony of sacred mourning and quiet hope. There is a meditative stillness to Songs of the Bulbul, a quality that invites reflection. It may well draw inspiration from The Conference of the Birds, the 12th-century Sufi parable by Attar of Nishapur, where birds journey in search of the mythical Simurgh, only to discover that the divine truth lies within. The Conference of the Birds is a poem about sufism, the doctrine propounded by the mystics of Islam. In Songs of the Bulbul, Odedra's songbird seems to travel through despair toward a luminous inner peace—an embrace of death not as an end, but a beginning. Ultimately, Songs of the Bulbul is not just a performance—it is a ritual, a requiem, and a rebirth. Odedra has crafted a work that is both deeply personal and universally resonant, rooted in cultural tradition yet unbound by geography or language. It is a stirring reminder that through art, we can give voice to the unspeakable, and in movement, find meaning beyond words. Anoushka Shankar, Brighton Festival 25. Photo Credit Carly Hildebrant. Anoushka Shankar, Brighton Festival 25. Photo Credit Carly Hildebrant A highlight of the festival promises to be Anoushka Shankar's performance of Chapter III– the culmination of her recent trilogy of mini-albums: Chapter I: Forever, For Now, Chapter II: How Dark it is Before Dawnand Chapter III: We Return to Light with a visionary new live show–on Sunday 25th May at Brighton Dome.
Daily Maverick
14-05-2025
- Daily Maverick
Nigerian Pastor Timothy Omotoso released from custody pending appeal against prohibited person decision
Members of the Jesus International Dominion Church burst into song on Tuesday after Pastor Timothy Omotoso was released from custody. Omotoso was arrested pending deportation on Saturday after he was once again declared a prohibited person in South Africa. Nigerian pastor Timothy Omotoso was once again a free man on Tuesday night after the East London Magistrates' Court ordered his release from custody pending an appeal against a decision to have him declared a prohibited person. By law, he should be given a chance to appeal or make representations over being declared a prohibited person. His supporters have called for a full and transparent investigation into the handling of his arrest. The court's decision comes as the National Prosecuting Authority indicated that it would move forward with an appeal against his acquittal, as well as that of his co-accused, Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho. Omotoso and the two women previously appeared in the Gqeberha High Court, charged with several counts of sexual assault and human trafficking. After a marathon trial spanning more than seven years, all three were acquitted when Judge Irma Schoeman found that the State had failed to prove its case. Schoeman pointed out in her ruling that the State prosecutors had also failed to cross-examine the accused properly and had failed to lead corroborating evidence. Both Sulani and Sitho were at the court proceedings in East London on Tuesday, where police guarded the building amid protests for and against Omotoso's deportation. 'The NPA's Director of Public Prosecutions in the Eastern Cape, Barry Madolo, has decided to appeal the judgment by Judge Irma Schoeman relating to the case against Timothy Omotoso,' NPA national spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga said in a statement on Tuesday. 'This decision follows a thorough consideration of the matter by an NPA internal team of experienced prosecutors, as well as a legal opinion sourced from senior counsel. The decision could not be rushed due to the complexity of the matter and the voluminous transcript that needed to be interrogated,' Mhaga said. Despite earlier indications by the NPA that Omotoso would be deported immediately after his acquittal, this did not happen. He moved to East London, where he launched a highly publicised crusade titled 'New Dawn'. Even after Buffalo City Executive Mayor Princess Faku barred him from using municipal venues, Omotoso continued preaching at a private property in Commercial Road. He was arrested there on Saturday, after he had been declared a prohibited person by the Minister of Home Affairs last week, in another setback for his longstanding battle to stay in South Africa. This status, however, stems not from the criminal proceedings, but from allegations that he used fraudulent documentation to enter South Africa. According to the Department of Home Affairs' procedures, he should be given the chance to make provisions for his 'unbanning' once declared a prohibited person. Instead, though, he was arrested immediately after the letter had been served. Footage broadcast on Newzroom Afrika showed members of his congregation dancing and singing after hearing of his release. The Director of Christians for South Africa, Obed Molemo, said they wanted to commend the judiciary for upholding justice, fairness and due process. He said the arrest of Omotoso was premature and unlawful. 'It has sent shockwaves throughout the Christian community and raised serious questions about [Pastor Omotoso]'s constitutional rights,' Molemo said. 'The events of the past weekend were distressing,' Molemo said. 'But today's ruling has restored hope in the rule of law.' The Department of Home Affairs said it had noted the court's ruling and would determine its next steps after receiving the magistrate's written reasons. DM
