LISTEN | Relative shares what led to the fight over Mboro's grandkids

A grandmother of the children who were seen crying hysterically in a video when Paseka "Pastor Mboro" Motsoeneng and others forcibly took them from school while brandishing pangas is one of the people who have been arrested together with the controversial pastor.

This was revealed by the relative of the children's mother on Thursday morning at the Palm Ridge magistrate's court ahead of the appearance of Motsoeneng, the grandmother and three others.

There was a heavy police presence at the court on Thursday in anticipating a large crowd of Motsoeneng's supporters who are members of his Incredible Happenings Church which schoolchildren razed on Tuesday.

Police had also brought a nyala and parked it in front of the court.

The five face charges of assault, malicious damage to property and intimidation as well as a charge related to the Firearms Control Act.

They were arrested after videos of Motsoeneng brandishing pangas and threatening school staff in the presence of two children who were crying hysterically during the chaos.

Another man was also seen carrying a rifle.

It was later revealed that the crying children were his grandchildren and his son was engaged in a fierce custody battle with the children's grandmother, who works at the school.

Speaking outside court, the great-aunt to the children said the grandmother and uncle of the children are among the five arrested people.

Kgadi Gele said they were hoping the two would be released, saying they had not done anything wrong.

“The grandmother has been arrested and charged with assault but we don’t know who she assaulted. The uncle of the children has also been arrested even though he was the one who was being chased and threatened by Mboro with his pangas,” Gele said.

“I am hoping that they release the uncle and my sister, because they are not suspects, they have done nothing and only wanted to do the right thing by the children.”

According to Gele, the children aged 5 and 7 years have been living with the paternal family since the passing of their mother.

“These children require treatment, so the grandmother took them to the hospital last week so that they could get treatment but now the father of the children came and took the children during school hours [Thursday] and he left with them.

“We let him because we thought he would bring them back but the next day they didn’t show up at school and these children need that treatment.

“We went to the house [Mboro's home] on Friday to give the treatments but he said 'no' and kicked us out using the same pangas in front of the police,” said Gele.

She also said Motsoeneng was not an angelic grandfather, as he wanted people to think.

“We are not saying he must abandon the children, but rather let us take the children so we can take care of them for you and help raise them. The children know who their father is and they will go back to him.”

On Tuesday, residents and pupils from various schools in Katlehong took to the streets to take out their frustrations over what the controversial pastor had done. This resulted in his church being vandalised and burnt to the ground.