The church led by a controversial pastor in South Africa has been burned to the ground after he allegedly entered a school wielding a machete. 

Pastor Mboro's Incredible Happenings Church was set alight by schoolchildren on Tuesday, according to local reports. 

Footage was circulated a day prior which appeared to show Pastor Mboro's waving a machete around during a tense stand-off with teachers in Katlehong, a township just outside Johannesburg.

Footage appeared to show Pastor Mboro holding a machete on school grounds. Credit: Facebook

Provincial authorities said the two young children shown in the video being removed are at the centre of a custody battle following the death of their mother, the BBC reports. 

There are reports that the children removed by Pastor Mboro were his grandchildren. 

Police said that five people had been detained following the school incident. 

They added that the video showed "acts of intimidation and violence" and men "harassing learners and teachers".

A separate video appeared to show Pastor Mboro's church, which was housed in a marquee tent, going up in flames. Pupils in school uniforms could be seen running from the scene. 

The authorities in the district of Ekurhuleni posted on X that "anger erupted after Mboro wasn't arrested following yesterday's incident, leading to the tent burning". 

South African Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube posted about the incident on X, saying he was "absolutely incensed by this attack on our schools, staff and learners".

He added: "No-one - absolutely no-one - should break into schools with weapons interrupting teaching and learning time and terrorising children."

Pastor Mboro is a self-styled prophet and healing evangelist with thousands of followers across South Africa.

He has repeatedly insisted he can heal people from disease and reportedly once claimed to deliver a fish from the womb of a pregnant woman.