By: Sharon Kopano Mawila
The famous preacher from Waderville, Germiston, Paseka Motsoeneng, also known as “Prophet Mboro,” appeared at the Palm Ridge Magistrate Court on Wednesday (August 7). He was denied bail following a video that went viral on Monday (August 5), showing him holding a panga and having disputes with teachers at Matshidiso Primary School in Katlegong, demanding his two grandsons. This incident led to his arrest.
In a post on X, Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube tweeted, “I am absolutely incensed by this attack on our schools, staff, and learners. No one—absolutely no one,should break into schools with weapons, interrupt teaching and learning time, and terrorize children. Schools should be a place of safety, teaching, and learning. This is why I’ve asked my colleagues for intervention on this matter. The perpetrators must be apprehended and charged.”
The self-styled prophet, who has a number of followers around the country, and his four accomplices, who were at the school with him, are facing various charges. These include kidnapping, possession of dangerous weapons and unlicensed firearms, possession of a prohibited firearm, assault by way of threat, pointing of firearms, discharging a gun, and malicious property damage. They were arrested the day after the incident. Furthermore, the magistrate’s court has ordered the media not to disclose the names of the two learners, who are believed to be the grandsons of the famous pastor.
This situation prompted reactions from netizens on social media platforms. One user on X commented, “Taking kids by force who aren’t legally under his custodianship is tantamount to kidnapping. He should be charged. If the school was breaking any laws, why didn’t he bring the police with him? He can’t take the law into his own hands… he should be arrested ASAP.”
Another X user said, “Custody is biological; you don’t need to get it. The son has custody. Mboro, as the grandfather, has the same right to the children as the grandmother who kept them at that school. Let’s not lie now.”
