The first state witness since the re-start of the Pastor Timothy Omotoso case in the Port Elizabeth High Court said she just was unable to break away from the mission house near Durban, because of the power he had over the young women who lived there.
Omotoso’s and his two co-accused, Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho, are court over racketeering, human trafficking and sexual assault charges.
The two co-accused allegedly identified young women during crusades of the Jesus Dominion International Church, and lured them to the house.
The state’s first witness, Andiswe Dike, was in the dock for the fourth day, being cross-examined by defence lawyer Peter Dauberman.
She admitted under cross-examination that she invited her two younger sisters to visit her at the mission house of the church in Umhlanga.
Dike said she knew they might also be sexually abused by Omotoso, but she hoped that he would pray for her one sister who suffered with migraines.
Dike further admitted that she did not leave the house or laid charges against Omotoso because she was scared that he would curse her.
She testified he often threatened the women if they did not pay enough attention to him. She considered him to be a powerful man of God and would not go against him.
She was also disappointed when she realised that she would not get intense spiritual training, but would rather be painfully sexually assaulted during so-called appointments with Omotoso in his room. Her cross-examination continues on Tuesday.
