- Televangelist Timothy Omotoso's application for leave to appeal a denial bail judgment has failed.
- Judge Philip Zilwa found that there was no compelling reason why the appeal should be heard.
- Zilwa also said he didn't see any other court coming to a different conclusion.
Rape-accused televangelist Timothy Omotoso has lost his application for leave to appeal a denied bail judgment.
On Wednesday, Judge Philip Zilwa said Omoto's application in the Eastern Cape High Court in Port Elizabeth was dismissed on the basis that there was no reasonable prospect of success and because there was no other compelling reason why the appeal should be heard.
"In the premises, I am of the opinion that there are no reasonable prospects of success in the intended appeal, hence there is no basis for granting [the] leave to appeal that is sought in this application," Zilwa said on Wednesday.
Zilwa described the grounds on which the application was based as "unsubstantiated and baseless".
In the application, Omoto's legal team submitted that the court, in dismissing the initial bail application, overlooked the existence of an extradition treaty between South Africa and Omoto's home country of Nigeria when he was deemed to be a flight risk.
Omotoso is on trial alongside co-accused Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho. Sulani and Sitho are out on bail.
The three face 97 charges, including rape, human trafficking and racketeering, for allegedly targeting and recruiting young girls for sexual exploitation.
It is alleged that the girls were moved from their homes to two mission houses in KwaZulu-Natal, where they were allegedly made to engage in sexual acts with Omotoso.
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