May 10, 2025 – East London, South Africa: A Nigerian pastor named Timothy Omotoso has been arrested again in South Africa, just weeks after being set free by the court. This time, police say he broke immigration rules.
Pastor Omotoso, 66, leads the Jesus Dominion International Church in South Africa. He had been in prison since 2017 after being accused of very serious crimes. These included r@pe, s£xual assault, and human trafficking. Some of the young women who accused him said they were chosen by him from the church and that he would pray for forgiveness after doing wrong things to them. Some of these girls were still in school when the incidents happened.
After many years in court, a judge released him in April 2025. The judge said that even though Pastor Omotoso’s story didn’t sound very believable, the people who were supposed to prove the case—the prosecutors—did not do a good job. Because of that, the court had to let him go.
But on Saturday, May 10, South African police arrested him again in the town of East London, just after he finished a church service. Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola told reporters that the pastor will now face new charges related to immigration—that means he may have stayed in the country or travelled without proper papers.
“He will appear in court on Monday,” Masemola said.
Pastor Omotoso will now have to answer questions about whether he was allowed to live or work in South Africa legally.
This case has received a lot of attention both in South Africa and Nigeria, especially because of the serious nature of the earlier charges and how long the trial lasted—almost nine years.
