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Bishop Wanjiru Fights to Save JIAM Church from Demolition

The church faces demolition amid allegations of being on public land.

Updated on

March 7, 2024

At 11.18 am on March 6, a group of youths, escorted by police officers, forcefully entered the premises of Jesus is Alive Ministries on Haile Selassie Avenue, ordering everyone out.

They claimed to have been sent by the Kenya Railways to demolish the church led by Bishop Margaret Wanjiru, asserting that it was built on public land.

Those who attempted to resist were roughed up and thrown out of the compound. Simultaneously, other members of the gang ransacked the church, looting property belonging to the congregants.

The gang then proceeded to forcibly demolish a perimeter wall separating the church from the Kenya Railways premises, all under the watch of police.

Government land

According to Bishop Wanjiru, who was injured as she tried to defend the property, the attackers claimed to be police officers sent to reclaim government land.

“There are many of them; some say they are from the National Intelligence Service (NIS), others say they are from the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and others from the police,” she said.

The bishop dismissed claims that the land belongs to the government.

“I want to state that Waruga Lane has no Kenya Railways property. This is the property of the church and my neighbours, who also own property here,” she said.

On February 10, another group attempted to demolish the same wall but were unable to accomplish the mission, Bishop Wanjiru claimed, saying Kenya Railways had earlier demolished her wall to build theirs.

“It is because the court case is coming up, so they are trying to protect themselves. They are trying to cover up their actions,” she said.

The incident occurred three months after state officials ordered Apostle James Maina Ng’ang’a of the Neno Evangelism Centre to halt all pre-construction activity on his property until an ownership dispute is heard and determined.

The preacher, whose church sits on a one-acre plot at the intersection of Uhuru Highway and Haile Selassie Avenue in Nairobi, said the Kenya Railways ordered him to pause any works on site pending the determination of the case.

Apostle Ng’ang’a stated that he is the legal owner of the property and vowed to defend his ownership rights to pave the way for church projects.

The disputes come as Kenya Railways is in the process of reclaiming its confiscated land to make room for the execution of the Nairobi Rail Masterplan.

The plan involves the construction of a huge transport hub on the 273-acre Kenya Railways land, along with the erection of flyover roads linking it with key roads.

If implemented, the project aims to provide Nairobi with a new railway station integrated into the Nairobi BRT scheme and other public transport modes.