Churches on the cross in 'ungodly' city courts

“When one of you has a dispute with another believer, how dare you file a lawsuit and ask a secular court to decide the matter instead of taking it to other believers!” is what Apostle Paul tells Christians in 1 Corinthians 6:1 (New Living Translation).

But in Kenya today, churches and Christians have been in and out of court, for many reasons. A disturbing statistic from court documents reveals that more than 70 per cent of cases involving churches, are land cases.

Most faiths preach fairness and justice, but the cases reek of unscrupulous deals both for and against the churches. And the case studies can really arrest your attention; from cases involving breakaway churches, to pit latrines being constructed on encroached property.

Then there is the interesting case of the bishop, his wife, the church, its resident secretary, the pending divorce, donor funds and separate bank accounts… we take a look at ten of the memorable cases on land that have had the church having a testimony, but this time, in the corridors of justice.

CITAM VALLEY ROAD

This is the most recent of the church cases. CITAM (Christ is the Answer Ministries) has been drawn to a court battle over a Sh7 billion real estate project they launched last year, dubbed LaNyavu.

The church bought land using loans contributed by its faithful, and sought to build four to five bedroom houses in a gated community on acres of land in Karen which they subdivided for sale. Other phases of the project will be in Isinya and Mwiki. However the church has been drawn to a title deed debacle by one of its customers, also a faithful in the church.

Through lawyer Tom Macharia, a member who invested through Sh9 million Equity bank loan in June 2008, claimed he has never been issued with a duly registered ownership document. He sued the church for breach of agreement, a case that is still before Judge Jonathan Havelock, with the member seeking to stop the church from issuing any title deeds until his own is issued.

MAXIMUM MIRACLE CENTRE

Pastor Pius Muiru carved a name in evangelical circles, especially in televangelism, with his firebrand preaching and working miracles. Forays into politics came a cropper due to a failed attempt at vying for the presidency.

Last year Pastor Muiru took fellow pastor Andrew Mlewa Mkare to court for converting a piece of land in Watamu into his own use. Pastor Muiru claimed that Mkare-whom he ordained in 2008- had constructed a semi-permanent structure that houses Yesu ni Jibu Maximum Celebration Centre, a break-away church from his own.

Mkare, however, defended himself saying that, as a founding member of his church, he offered his private land that he had purchased using a bank loan and he put up the semi-permanent structure on the property long before Maximum Miracle Centre acquired its own property. Further the pastor has given his mother church a wide berth, saying his is not an affiliate of pastor Muirus.

KENYA METHODIST CHURCH

The Kenya Methodist Church was sued jointly by The Anglican Church and PCEA St Andrews, over land which they claimed Methodist wanted to sell. The three churches jointly bought a two acre piece of land in Lavington that was acquired for interdenominational purposes.

PCEA went to court and complained that Methodist had planned to subdivide and sell the land without their permission. PCEA was flanked by the Anglican Church’s Mombasa Diocese, that joined the case claiming they were part of the deal that bought the land in 1959.

Papers in court showed that the Methodist Church was only given the title deed as custodians, but none of the churches had exclusive rights over the Lavington plot. Still though, the Methodist Church has held that ACK and PCEA are abusing the court process.

“The land was offered to the two churches but as they were unable to develop it, they suggested it be given to us. We are the ones who built a primary school, catering facilities and car parks,” said Bishop Rev Peter Kanyaru in one of the court affidavits.

KARURA COMMUNITY CHURCH

Early this month, April 1 to be precise, the senior pastor of Karura Community Church went to court to file an application asking to be included in Mbiyu Koinange’s property succession court battle as an interested party. The church entered a sale agreement over a one acre plot of land with the estate’s administrators, a part known as close-burn estate.

They, however, complain that a sale agreement has not been met; the administrators have not built an access road and a bridge as promised. However, it was too little too late for them.

As earlier revealed by The Nairobian in January, the 33 year old property battle is being wrapped up with only one witness remaining, and could not be considered as part of the case. In his ruling, Judge William Musya Musyoka said that if aggrieved, the church should file a new case against the entire estate, rather than asking to be enjoined in an ending matter.

JESUS VICTORY EXPLOSION CENTRE (UMOJA)

The Umoja Innercore Church was sued by a William Thitai Ngatia, who claimed that Rev. Joshua Katua incited the church faithful to stop his construction on a site the church claims it owns.

Ngatia presented title deeds in court in 2009 that proved he owned the land rightfully as recognized by the then City Council, now Nairobi County. The church when asked to produce ownership documents, could only prove ownership of an adjacent plot where the Church building is located. Once in 2009, the City Council ordered the church to pull down a fence they had erected around Ngatia’s plot. The then Judge Richard Sitati ordered the church to refrain from encroaching to Ngatia’s land and allow him to ‘peacefully enjoy’ his property.

KAHAWA WEST SDA CHURCH

Kahawa West SDA Church found itself in court for building a pit latrine on land owned by their neighbour, Moses Umbisa. Umbisa complained that he had been deprived the quiet possession and use of his property.

In his testimony, Umbisa alleged that the church pulled down a fence he had put up. He had cleared the bush and hedged his share of land, but that the church built the pit latrine twice, despite him destroying the first one. According to Umbisa, the pit latrine lowered his property’s Aesthetic value, and that he could not develop it.

The church in defense said that they could not have conducted their activities without the facility... However calming the tension between the two, Justice Lucy Gacheru declined to award Umbisa any damages, and asked him to find a way to co-exist peacefully with the church. The ruling was passed in February this year.

CHRIST CHAPEL MINISTRIES, HURUMA

This was a case of a bishop, his wife, the church and a divorce. Bishop Boniface Wambua Kimanzi is the bishop at Christ Chapel, his wife Gloria Ndunge Katee, the Vice Chairperson. By virtue of her position, Gloria was appointed Director of an orphanage and school allegedly owned by the church.

It was a rosy affair until the Bishop Kimanzi purported to want to marry the church secretary whose name was undisclosed in the case. After that matters nosed south and members have not had a service on the church since July 2011- which prompted the church to demote Gloria as the Vice Chair and School Director.

However they could not claim the orphanage and school back since it was registered under her, and allegedly built by donor funds rather than the church’s resources. Gloria alleges that since 2011, children from Christ Chapel Children’s Home were the only people using the church for services, and were joined by neighbours from the surrounding community.

The Bishop along with ‘new members’ of the church committee moved to court seeking to throw Gloria out of the land. It would be hard for the Children’s home to survive since all donations directed at it were sent to Kimanzi’s account, whom Gloria claims wants to sell the land. The bitter battle is still in court before Lady Justice Rose Ougo.

SALVATION ARMY NAIROBI CENTRAL CORPS

 

A little over a year ago, members of this church were on the news, spray painting their name off a building that was constructed under their premises. Funan Construction Limited alleged to have had an agreement between them and the church to build an office block around the perimeter fence.

 Each office cost a rent of Sh30,000. However the church claimed that they had not agreed to the construction and that Funan was acting against a court order, which had been issued by Justice Msagha Mbogholi. They moved back to court before Justice Rose Ougo, with the construction company claiming that the Sh150 million block was built under the church’s permission.

They further claimed the said court order never reached them, despite the church serving the company’s lawyers. The case is still in court, and the said building still being used.

CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF NYERI

This case almost drew the church’s Cardinal John Njue to testify in court. The 60 year old case pitted the Nyeri Archdiocese against 317 squatters who claimed to be a tenth of the actual number, against the church.

The squatters claimed that the colonial government displaced them from the land and thereafter handed it to Italian missionaries. The missionaries thereafter handed the land to Consolata Catholic Mission, which is where the church sits now.

Their lawyer Wanyiri Kihoro while pleading for the court to tour the premise, described the frustration of the squatters had driven them to the Ndung’u Land Ndung’u Commission. The church however claimed that the case was a fishing expedition against them. The case has since been moved from Nairobi to The Nyeri High Court, and is now before Justice Anthony Ombwayo.

CHURCH OF GOD EMBAKASI

On a Sunday of May 22, the faithful of the above church congregated for their usual service. It was a normal service until 17 men came, forced people out and demolished property as well as demolished the church.

Bishop Byram Makokha moved to court and sued Muriithi Mwenje, son to the late David Mwenje, claiming that he was trying to evict them from their property. The church felt they had a case since they had been allocated the land, and had papers to prove that. But When Muriithi Mwenje defended himself, he won.

He claimed that his late father, while still MP, had licensed the church to use the land but that they would relocate when requested. He claimed that his father had even provided the church with the building material and labour. However, he claimed that after his father’s death, the church worked behind the family’s back to be allocated part of the land.

Lady Justice Martha Koome while ruling against the church said that it had withheld information on how they had acquired the land; They brought a document dated May 22, while the attack was on May 22.

Photo: Courtesy