Mboro’s grandsons go missing as pastor seeks release on bail

Amid kidnapping-accused Pastor Paseka ‘Mboro’ Motsoeneng’s bail application on Friday, it emerged that his grandsons have gone missing.

The boys, at the centre of a messy custody battle between their feuding families, were last seen on the 7th of this month.

Mboro, his son, and bodyguard face kidnapping, intimidation, and trespassing charges for forcibly removing the boys from their primary school at gunpoint.

Angry school children and community members later torched Mboro’s Incredible Happenings Church in retaliation to the violent incident, during which the pastor was brandishing a panga threatening to slice those who dared to approach him.

Following the incident, the pastor’s grandchildren were left in the custody of their maternal family but were allegedly snatched away last week, on the eve of Mboro’s previous court appearance.

State Prosecutor, Pheello Vilakazi, expressed concern as the boys require chronic medication, and their disappearance puts their lives at risk.

In a new twist, it was revealed that the panga-wielding pastor had been arrested nine times in connection with various other crimes, but all charges were later dropped.

The state has opposed Mboro’s release on bail, citing his submission of a false residential address, which prosecutors say suggests his attempts to conceal additional unlicensed firearms.

They argue that this may put the lives of witnesses and the community at risk.

The bail application continues on Monday.

Meanwhile, two additional suspects remain at large for their involvement in the alleged kidnapping incident.

Outside the courtroom, Mboro’s followers expressed frustration that their leader remains in custody.

They believe the school children who torched their church should face criminal charges, not their prophet. Written by Naomi Kobbie