Controversial Pastor Paseka 'Mboro' Motsoeneng will spend the long weekend behind bars pending his formal bail hearing next week Friday. Mboro, his son Vincent Motsoeneng, and his bodyguard Clement Baloyi made a brief appearance at the Palm Ridge Magistrates Court in the East Rand today.

CASE POSTPONED

Mboro and his co-accused were arrested on Monday night after they were caught on camera armed at his grandchildren's school earlier on the same day. Speaking to the media outside court, NPA spokesperson Phindile Mjonondwane said the three suspects are facing multiple charges, including intimidation, assault, kidnapping and possession of an unlicensed firearm. "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," Mjonondwane said. She added that Mboro's grandchildren's maternal grandmother and uncle are also facing assault charges after Mboro opened an assault case against them.

THE VIOLENCE

In a series of videos that were posted on social media on Monday, Mboro, armed with two pangas together with his armed bodyguards, stormed the Matshediso Primary School and demanded to take his grandchildren. When the teachers refused to hand them over, the pastor started wielding his pangas while warning a female teacher not to dare to get close to him. He later took the children from school and claimed that they were staying with him prior to their mother's passing in April. Mboro claimed that the kid's maternal grandmother was using them to get money from him and his son, who is the father. Yesterday, learners from different schools in Katlehong torched his church, The Incredible Happenings Ministry in Katlehong following the incident. The case was postponed to 16 August for a formal bail application.