By Lauryne Akoth
The National Committee on Lands on Thursday issued Pastor James Ng’ang’a a seven-day ultimatum to submit land ownership documents hosting his church, Neno Evangelism Centre.
This is after he claimed he bought the parcel of land from CBK in 2004 at Kshs 42M. The plot, situated at the junction of Haile Selassie Avenue and Uhuru Highway, is among multiple parcels under investigation by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
The investigation revolves around allegations suggesting that the parcels of land are the property of the Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC). Appearing before the committee, the pastor explained how he gained land ownership.
The preacher shared his experience of being incarcerated for 20 years, during which he was released from prison in 1989. After his release, he sought odd jobs to sustain himself in Mombasa. Later, he moved to Nairobi, where in 2004, he came across a sign advertising the sale of the property.
“I saw the board advertising the property sale and went to inquire about it at the central bank where they stated the land was at Kshs 32M. I was asked to pay 10% and the balance within 90 days,” said Ng’ang’a. he however claimed that despite paying the requested 10%, the property was readvertised for sale in the Kenyan Gazette.
” I reapplied to purchase the land and was informed the price was hiked to Kshs 42M. We then signed the agreement for the property and equity bank paid the amount. I began paying for the loan and completed the payments around 2008 and I was given the title under the name Neno Evangelism Centre.”
Ng’ang’a claims that in the year 2020, he received a letter from Railways Corporation indicating that they wanted to reclaim the land to which he responded stating that he got the title from Central Bank.
He recounted being subsequently summoned by former Cabinet Secretary James Macharia and former Nairobi Metropolitan Service (NMS) Director-General Maj-Gen Mohammed Badi to address the issue.
“After presenting all the supporting documents to them, they stated, ‘We do not have this in our records,’ and I was not contacted again,” Ng’ang’a further stated.
Ng’ang’a also claimed that he bought another parcel of land from an Indian businesswoman and was given the title under his name however, Railways Corporation claimed ownership.
The Apostle continued by stating that before making the purchase, he thoroughly examined the Nairobi City Council records. He found that initially, the land was owned by Kenya Finance Bank, but ownership was transferred to the Central Bank after the former collapsed.
Ng’ang’a told the committee that the meeting was on short notice therefore he was not able to present the documents before the committee. Joash Nyamoko the chair of the committee asked Ng’ang’a to present the documents within the next seven days after the hearing however the committee would set a date for a hearing 14 days later.
Ng’ang’a’s attorney Osoro, also revealed that there is an ongoing court case concerning the same piece of land, with them being respondents to various interested parties.