Court denies Mboro & bodyguard bail
Panga-wielding pastor Paseka ‘Mboro’ Motsoeneng and bodyguard Clement Baloyi have been denied bail in the Palm Ridge Magistrates Court on Monday.
Accused three, who is Motsoeneng's relative but can't be named to protect the identity of the minors at the centre of a custody battle, has been released on warning after the court found it's in the best interest of the children.
The trio appeared in court for a third time since their arrest on 5 August 2024.
They face an array of charges linked to the alleged forceful removal of two minor children from a Katlehong school earlier this month.
Earlier, state prosecutor Pheello Vilakazi argued that Motsoeneng and his co-accused misled the court in their bail papers by providing false addresses, but the court found this was not adequately substantiated.
When delivering judgment, Magistrate Katlego Mokoena found the bail affidavits of all three accused were poorly written - calling them “sloppy” and an “obvious copy and paste”.
While accused three was released on warning after the court found it was in the interest of the children as their guardian, he was given strict conditions: “You’re to have no direct/indirect contact with the witnesses in this matter safe for the maternal [relatives] under the guidance and assistance of the children’s court.
“You’re prohibited from accessing the said school premises where the said incident occurred up until the finalisation of this matter…this is only until the finalisation of this matter, alternatively the outcome of the children’s court matter. You’re therefore warned until the next court date.
“For applicants one and two, your bail is therefore denied.”
The trio faces schedule 5 charges, and the court found that Motsoeneng and Baloyi failed to convince the court that exceptional circumstances exist to permit their release and that it would be in the interest of justice to grant them bail.
The case has been postponed to 21 October.
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