Magistrate Rejects Pastor Mboro’s Bail Amid School Abduction Allegations

In a courtroom at the Palm Ridge Magistrates’ Court, justice progressively manifested as Magistrate Katlego Mokoena delivered a stringent verdict against the infamous Paseka “Pastor Mboro” Motsoeneng and his bodyguard, Clement Baloyi. The duo faced the severity of the law when their bail applications were denied on the 19th of August amid serious allegations of school abduction.

The magistrate’s decision was made public as he critically labelled the affidavits provided by the accused as a “sloppy copy and paste,” highlighting them as replete with spelling mistakes and overall carelessness. These documents, essential to the bail proceedings, failed to meet the burden of proof necessary to tilt the scale in favor of Mboro and Baloyi.

The charges levied against Mboro, Baloyi, and three other individuals, including Mboro's son, are severe. They stem from their alleged involvement in a disturbing event that transpired at Matsediso Primary School in Katlehong. Armed with dread-inducing weapons like machetes and rifles, they are accused of creating chaos and abducting two minors, reportedly Mboro’s grandchildren. The 12 charges include kidnapping, unlicensed firearm possession, and assault, painting a grave picture of the incident.

While Magistrate Mokoena was stern with Mboro and Baloyi, he iterated a separate ruling for Mboro’s son, releasing him on bail. The magistrate underscored that this decision was made in the best interest of the affected children and set stringent conditions, including restriction from contact with the maternal family of the children and prohibiting his presence at the school, pending the outcome of a custody case in the Children’s Court.

The case complexities deepened with the revelation that a J50 warrant precipitated Mboro’s arrest due to difficulties in pinning down his address. Prosecutor Peello Vilakazi unraveled the mystery surrounding the multiple addresses given by the accused, suggesting a deliberate obfuscation and stressing the dangers they posed, particularly when bringing unlicensed guns into a school environment. The failure to locate one of the rifles used further bolstered the prosecution’s viewpoint of a potential threat to public safety.

Defence advocate Phillip Dhlamini fired back, questioning the kidnapping charge's legitimacy based on paternal rights, and suggested that the Gauteng Department of Education needed to clarify the denial of access to one's children. Moreover, Dhlamini contested the state’s implications regarding public order and called for due process in the admissibility of the videos showing Mboro during the incident.

Amid the clash of legal arguments, the prominent pastor and his bodyguard remain detained, awaiting their day of reckoning as the courtroom drama pauses until their reappearance on the 21st of October.