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Pastor Mboro to remain behind bars as family member speaks about conflict
The case against Mboro and his co-accused has been postponed for a bail hearing.
Paseka ‘Pastor Mboro’ Motsoeneng at the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court on 7 August 2024. Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen
Paseka “Pastor Mboro” Motsoeneng and his co-accused will remain in custody behind bars until their next appearance next week.
Mboro, his son Vincent Revival Motsoeneng, and his bodyguard Clement Baloyi appeared in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
The three men were arrested this week following an incident at Matshidiso Primary School in Katlehong, Ekurhuleni.
Motsoeneng, along with a man carrying a rifle, was caught on camera brandishing pangas and threatening staff members as two children were forcibly taken from the school on Monday.
The incident is believed to stem from a custody battle between Mboro’s son and the children’s grandmother.
Both the grandmother and the children’s uncle were also arrested, taking the total number of suspects to five.
Pastor Mboro case postponed
The case against Mboro and his co-accused has since been postponed to 16 August for a bail hearing.
“Accused one, two, and three [will remain] in custody. No bail at this particular stage,” the presiding officer said on Wednesday.
Speaking to the media after the postponement, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) confirmed that the three men were facing a series of charges, including kidnapping, possession of an unlicensed firearm and assault.
“We cannot rule out the possibility of additional charges.
“Investigations are ongoing and we will be guided by the trajectory of the investigations on whether or not we should add or remove some of the charges,” NPA regional spokesperson Phindile Mjonondwane said.
ALSO READ: Pastor Mboro’s church in Katlehong set on fire by angry community [VIDEO]
Mjonondwane explained that the grandmother and uncle are also facing charges of assault.
Mboro has filed an assault case against the grandmother, while his son has opened similar cases against both the grandmother and the uncle.
“The one opened by Mboro’s son, we have taken a decision as the NPA that it will not be enrolled, pending further investigations.
“There’s some outstanding information we have requested SAPS [South African Police Service] to gather for us and then bring back the docket for a decision.”
Additionally, the commander of the SAPS Katlehong Police Station has filed an assault case against the uncle.
“The docket by the station commander is a very serious charge… one of attacking a police officer so that docket will also be enrolled in court and then we will hear from the court whether the accused is ready to proceed with a bail application in that regard.”
The uncle and grandmother were granted bail of R1 000 each. They will return to court on 10 September.
Family member speaks
Earlier, Kgadi Hlalele, a relative from the children’s maternal side, told journalists that the family was hoping for the release of the grandmother and uncle.
“Mboro and his crew pretend to be victims. The uncle and my sister are not suspects, they have done nothing,” she said on Wednesday.
Hlalele explained that the children had been living with their paternal family after their mother succumbed to an illness.
READ MORE: Gwarube urges police to investigate Mboro’s panga incident while Sadtu condemns it
She stated that their father took the children during school hours and left with them last Thursday.
The relative alleged that Mboro threatened the grandmother at his house when she attempted to hand over the children’s medication after they did not show up at school on Friday.
“We have a witness. We went to the police station and asked them to accompany us because we know what kind of person he is.
“So, he took out those pangas in the presence of the police. There are videos of the incident.”
Watch the video below:
[WATCH] Khadi Hlalele (maternal relative) details the build up to Monday’s incident at the Matsediso Primary School in Katlehong when Paseka Motsoeneng &his bodyguard threatened staff &pupils with pangas &a rifle. #Mboro. She says this was not the first time he used the weapons pic.twitter.com/Dv3qKUNrlV
— Jacaranda News (@JacaNews) August 7, 2024
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