Video : pastor mboro church

The church of a controversial South African preacher was burned down after he allegedly wielded machetes at a primary school and forcibly removed his grandchildren.

Pastor Mboro’s Incredible Happenings Church was set on fire by angry schoolchildren on Tuesday, according to local reports.

The day before, a widely circulated video appeared to show Pastor Mboro, whose real name is Paseka Motsoeneng, waving blades during a tense stand-off with teachers in Katlehong, a township just outside Johannesburg. He was accompanied by a man carrying what police later identified as a replica firearm.

Provincial authorities stated that the two young children shown being removed in the video are at the center of a custody battle following the death of their mother.

Police reported that five people were arrested after the incident at the school, where the video depicted “acts of intimidation and violence” and men “harassing learners and teachers.”

Separate footage shows Pastor Mboro’s church, housed in a marquee tent, engulfed in flames with thick, black smoke billowing from it. Pupils in school uniform were seen running from the burning church, which was also looted, News 24 reported.

Authorities in the Ekurhuleni district, where the church is located, stated on social media platform X: “Anger erupted after Mboro wasn’t arrested following yesterday’s incident, leading to the tent burning.” They mentioned that Pastor Mboro was arrested on Tuesday morning, though police have not confirmed if he was among the five detained.

Pastor Mboro, a self-styled prophet with thousands of followers across South Africa, has claimed to perform miracles, including healing people during sermons and delivering a fish from the womb of a pregnant woman.

South African education minister Siviwe Gwarube expressed outrage over the incident at the primary school, posting on X: “I am absolutely incensed by this attack on our schools, staff, and learners. No one – absolutely no one – should break into schools with weapons, interrupting teaching and learning time, and terrorizing children.”

Police said those arrested face charges including assault, intimidation, and malicious damage to property.