Apostle James Ng'ang'a, a controversial televangelist, has revealed that he bought the land his church sits on from the Central Bank of Kenya for Ksh.42 million as ownership wrangles rage.

The site, located at the crossroads of Haile Selassie Avenue and Uhuru Highway, is one of several properties investigated by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) on allegations that it belongs to the Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC).

PHOTO | COURTESY Apostle James Ng'ang'a 

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While testifying before the National Assembly's Departmental Committee on Lands on Thursday, Ng'ang'a described how he obtained the land after the government placed it up for sale in 2004.

Shortly after, Ng'ang'a reported that the land was relisted for sale, forcing him to reapply and now pay Ksh.42 million for it.

Troubles surrounding the parcel's ownership would follow him for years, as he said he received a letter from KRC in 2020 informing him that they wished to reclaim the land.

"I told them I bought the title deed from Central Bank," he said.

He claims he was later summoned by former Cabinet Secretary James Macharia and former Nairobi Metropolitan Service (NMS) Director-General Maj-Gen Mohammed Badi to clarify the situation.

PHOTO | COURTESY Apostle James Ng'ang'a 

"I showed them all the supporting documents and they said 'We don't have this in our records' and I was never called again," he said.

The televangelist said that before the acquisition, he studied the Nairobi City Council archives and determined that the Kenya Finance Bank had initially owned the land. Still, the Central Bank took over ownership after it collapsed.

 The lands committee, therefore, granted the preacher 14 days to present all supporting paperwork proving ownership of the problematic parcel.