The prominent televangelist Apostle James Ng’ang’a has hinted that he paid Ksh. 42 million to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) for the land block on which his Neno Evangelism Centre church is located.
Said to be related to the Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC), the site at the junction of Haile Selassie Avenue and Uhuru Highway is one of many properties under investigation by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
Ng’ang’a described how he bought the property after the government placed it up for sale in 2004 during his appearance on Thursday before the Departmental Committee on Lands of the National Assembly.
“I moved to Nairobi after beginning my ministry in Mombasa. I went to ask about a “land for sale” sign I noticed at CBK in 2004. They told me it was for Ksh. 32 million, but I had to pay the 10% down payment and the remaining amount in 90 days,” he stated.
Ng’ang’a said that soon enough, the property was once again for sale, forcing him to submit a new application and now pay Ksh. 42 million for the land.
“We executed the contract, and Equity assisted me in making the payment. I received the title under the name “Neno Evangelism Centre” after repaying the debt in around 2008.”
Years later, he claimed to have gotten a letter from KRC in 2020 informing him that they intended to recover the property, which caused him to worry about ownership issues with the plot.
“I told them I bought the title deed from Central Bank,” he said.
He claims that former Cabinet Secretary James Macharia and former Nairobi Metropolitan Service (NMS) Director-General Maj-Gen Mohammed Badi called him later to clarify the situation.
“I presented them with every piece of evidence, and they claimed, ‘We don’t have this in our records’ and I was never called again,” said Ng’ang’a.
The Apostle continued by stating that he had checked Nairobi City Council records prior to making the purchase and discovered that the Kenya Finance Bank had originally owned the property, but that after it failed, the Central Bank had taken control.
Thus, the preacher was given a deadline of 14 days by the lands committee to provide every piece of evidence regarding the ownership of the disputed plot.
According to EACC, LR. Nos. 209/12492, 209/9640, 209/12361, 209/9641, and 209/12133 are plots that were once supposed to be used by KRC but are now in the ownership of private people.
The commission observed that Apostle Ng’ang’a’s parcel 209/12361 was a portion of a road intersection designed to increase visibility and traffic safety.