A controversial South African pastor’s church has been burned down after he allegedly brandished machetes at a primary school and forcibly took his grandchildren.
According to local reports, Pastor Mboro’s Incredible Happenings Church was set on fire by angry schoolchildren on Tuesday.
The day before, a much-discussed video emerged showing Pastor Mboro (real name Paseka Motsoeneng) brandishing knives during a tense confrontation with teachers in Katlehong, a township just outside Johannesburg.
He is flanked by a man carrying what police have since identified as a replica firearm.
Provincial authorities said the two young children filmed being taken away are at the center of a custody battle after their mother died.
According to police, five people were arrested following the incident at the school.
They said the video showed “acts of intimidation and violence” and men “harassing students and teachers.”
Separate video footage shows Pastor Mboro’s church, housed in a large tent, engulfed in flames as thick black smoke billows from the church.
Students in school uniforms were seen running from the church, which was also looted, News 24 reported.
Authorities in the Ekurhuleni district, where the church is located, said on social media platform X: “Anger erupted after Mboro was not arrested following yesterday’s incident, which led to the tent being set on fire.”
The report said Pastor Mboro was arrested on Tuesday morning, but police have not yet confirmed whether he is one of the five people arrested.
Pastor Mboro is a self-proclaimed prophet with thousands of followers across South Africa.
He claimed to have performed miracles, such as healing people during sermons and releasing a fish from a pregnant woman’s womb.
South African Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube responded to the incident at the primary school via X: “I am extremely angry about this attack on our schools, our staff and our learners.
“No one, absolutely no one, should be entering schools with weapons, disrupting class time and terrorizing children.”
According to police, those arrested have been charged with crimes including assault, intimidation and malicious damage to property.
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