There was a dramatic scene at St. James Anglican Church in Nairobi’s Buruburu Estate when a widow and her children clashed with the church leader, accusing him of stealing their land. The family of Margaret Waititi Ndung’u demanded that the church leader be arrested for allegedly using their title deed to secure a large loan.
According to Margaret’s family, the church leader tricked them into handing over the title deed by promising to help them pay off their original loan. Instead, the church leader used the deed to secure a loan for himself, leaving the family in distress.
Videos shared by Kenyans.co.ke showed the 75-year-old widow shouting loudly in protest outside the church.
She was visibly upset, lifting her dress as she screamed about the church leader’s betrayal. Her children joined in the outcry, expressing their anger at the church leader’s actions, which they said had caused them significant hardship.
Margaret, in her emotional outburst, claimed that the church leader was on the verge of illegally taking her land, located in the outskirts of Nairobi, in Ngong’.
The dispute over the land started in 2013 when Margaret took a loan of Ksh 600,000 using her land as collateral. When she was unable to repay the loan, the church leader stepped in, promising to help pay off the debt in exchange for her title deed.
The deed was to be used as collateral, with the understanding that Margaret would repay the leader later.
Margaret’s grandson, Kelvin Mburu, explained that the loan had been borrowed from a savings society. “She had a loan of Ksh 670,000 from one of the credit savings societies,” Kelvin said. “Then, a person came and promised to pay it off, so the land wouldn’t be taken away.”
However, the widow was shocked years later when she discovered that the land, which had been designated for the Standard Gauge Railway project, was no longer in her name.
When she went to inquire about compensation for the land, she was told by the government that she couldn’t receive anything because the title deed had been transferred to the church leader.
“The SGR officials told us that the land was no longer in my grandmother’s name, and that there was a dispute. That’s when the church leader claimed the land as his,” Kelvin explained.
In addition to transferring the title to himself, the church leader reportedly used the same deed to secure a loan of Ksh 6 million. As a result, Margaret could not receive any compensation from the government until the debt was paid off.
After a lengthy legal battle, a court in Kajiado ruled in May 2023 that the land should be returned to Margaret, confirming her as the rightful owner. Despite the court ruling, the church leader allegedly ignored the court order, using deceitful tactics to keep the land.
Finally, police took action and arrested the church leader. After briefly detaining him at Buruburu Police Station, he was transferred to Kajiado Police Station, where he will face the consequences of his actions.
The situation has left the family and the local community outraged over the abuse of power by a supposed man of the cloth.
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