As anguish and disappointment in the country’s justice system continues to haunt the alleged victims of the Nigerian televangelist, Timothy Omotoso, the Cultural, Religious and Linguistic (CRL) Rights Commission, has revealed that it will continue to probe the circumstances that led to the acquittal of the Nigerian pastor by the Eastern Cape High Court.
Two weeks ago, the High Court in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape found Omotoso and two of his co-accused not guilty on all 32 charges of rape, human trafficking and racketeering.
Speaking during the media briefing by the victims, CRL chairperson, Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva, revealed that the investigation of the chapter nine institution will aim to ensure that victims of gender-based violence (GBV) in the church receive the necessary assistance when they break their silence.
On Thursday, the commission hosted a briefing addressed by some of the victims with Mkhwanazi-Xaluva saying the victims were let down by a poor prosecutorial conduct and weak witness protection programme, adding that this programme failed to safeguard those brave enough to testify.
“We are here today knowing that the system did not do enough to protect them. I have said this before, that you think this country has a witness protection programme, when sitting here, I know that it (the programme) does not work,” she said.
One of the victims reading from the statement slammed the country’s justice system saying:
“We can’t shy away from the fact that the system has let us down. It has failed us. The outcome of this case could have been different had the prosecution handled the matter better than how they did. Our lives have never been the same, publicly and privately.
“We feel threatened, worse now because our faces are out there visible to whoever that is watching us. We rest at ease knowing that we are not ashamed and we are not defined by our experiences and trauma. We fought hard. We were willing and we are very much ready to put our lives on the line to make sure that no one experience the shame and the trauma that we have been through,'” one of the victims, reading from the statement stated.