Omotoso took my power and dignity: Cheryl Zondi
It was another day of gruelling cross-examination of the State’s first witness in the trial of the controversial Nigerian pastor, Timothy Omotoso and his co-accused.
Cheryl Zondi told the High Court in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday that the pastor took away her "power, dignity and strength".
Zondi has been testifying on the fourth day of the trial against the charismatic leader of the Jesus Dominion Church.
Omotoso and two other accused, Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho, face a litany of charges among them, ranging from human trafficking to sexual assault and rape.
The 97 charges are for crimes allegedly committed between 2009 and 2017 before Omotoso’s dramatic arrest at the Port Elizabeth airport in April 2017.
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Zondi says talking about her traumatic ordeal is her way of getting her power back.
"I needed to start gathering my strength back from this person who went out of his to take it away from me. So I needed to tell people that this happened to me and I survived. I'm not the useless thing that he wanted me to be," an emotional Zondi explained.
Zondi also told the court of how she started drinking a lot and wearing black clothes to deal with the assault, describing herself as "morose soul".
Zondi will not be testifying for a week as she is writing exams.
Before adjourning court to Monday, Judge Mandela Makaula told Zondi to forget what happened in court and concentrate on her future, adding that the happenings of the process are not about her but about justice being served.