Kenya Railways Corporation has moved to reclaim prime land in central Nairobi, setting the stage for demolitions that could affect churches linked to prominent televangelists and several commercial properties, as the State agency accelerates plans for its Sh28 billion Railway City redevelopment.
Properties earmarked for demolition lie along Haile Selassie Avenue, Uhuru Highway and Bunyala Road, an area that forms the core footprint of the Nairobi Railway City project.
Among those affected are premises hosting Neno Evangelism Centre, associated with controversial preacher Pastor James Ng’ang’a, an adjacent plot whose construction stalled years ago, two petrol stations, and land occupied by Bishop Margaret Wanjiru’s Jesus Is Alive Ministries (JIAM).
In a notice signed by Kenya Railways Managing Director Philip Mainga, the corporation issued a seven-day ultimatum to what it described as “unauthorised persons” who have encroached on railway land, warning that it would take “full possession” of the area to pave way for the project.
Any structures remaining after the notice period, KR said, would be demolished or removed at the owners’ cost.
Kenya Railways has said construction is set to begin with final designs for the project completed and procurement processes underway.
The 13-acre Railway City development centres on the redevelopment of Nairobi Central Railway Station and its surrounding yards, envisioned as the nucleus of a new multimodal transport network for the capital.
“The project will improve connectivity to the CBD and the rest of the Nairobi metropolitan area by establishing a critical hub with the capacity to move 30,000 passengers per peak hour,” the corporation said in a statement, adding that the station would integrate with Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lines and other public transport systems.
The project initially scheduled for completion in 2027 will feature office blocks, shopping malls and a light industrial hub, and is being pitched as a green development aimed at easing congestion in the central business district. It will cost Sh28 billion, with the United Kingdom government contributing Sh11.9 billion (£80 million) and the remainder funded by tax payers.
Plans include laying about 45 kilometres of new railway track within and around the existing station yard, constructing a new central station building and exit structures, building overbridges across platforms, and demolishing existing buildings west of the current station. The upgrade will also add new passenger platforms, refurbish the historic Easy Coach House, and establish a new freight marshalling yard at Makadara.
Railway City
Kenya Railways has said preparations for the Railway City project are already underway, with planning and procurement processes having advanced beyond the design stage.
The corporation has indicated that site clearance and enabling works will proceed in phases, beginning with the reclamation of land around the Nairobi Central Railway Station and its immediate transport interfaces.
As part of the reconfiguration, Kenya Railways is also set to relocate the existing railway bus station. Under the new plan, passengers will be dropped at the Green Park Terminus before accessing the city centre through a modern underground pedestrian terminal designed to integrate rail, bus and non-motorised transport.
The changes are intended to ease congestion around the station precinct as construction begins on the wider Railway City development.
But the looming demolitions have revived old disputes none more politically charged than the long-running standoff between Kenya Railways and Bishop Wanjiru’s church as well as Pastor Ng’ang’a’s church.
JIAM church
Land hosting Jesus Is Alive Ministries along Haile Selassie Avenue has previously been partially demolished amid ownership wrangles with the railway agency.
In 2024, unknown individuals forced their way into the church compound and began tearing down a perimeter wall, claiming they had been sent by Kenya Railways.
Bishop Wanjiru, also a politician , publicly accused the government of betrayal, saying it had failed to protect her church despite her political support.
“This is the government we campaigned for,” she said at the time, warning that if a church led by a well-known political figure could be targeted, ordinary citizens stood
Two years ago, the Environment and Land Court dismissed a petition filed by JIAM and neighbouring property owners challenging the construction of a wall separating their land from railway property.
Justice Lucy Kimongoi ruled that the plaintiffs had failed to prove encroachment by Kenya Railways, noting that the wall stood on railway land.
“The plaintiffs have stated that the wall is being constructed on the first defendant’s property,” the judge said, adding that they were not entitled to the court’s protection.
Neno Evangelism Centre
The proposed demolition of property hosting Neno Evangelism Centre also reopens a recent legal battle between Pastor Ng’ang’a and the railway agency.
In 2023, the controversial preacher moved to court and obtained an injunction restraining Kenya Railways Corporation from interfering with his ownership and use of the Haile Selassie Avenue plot, which the State agency maintains forms part of a railway reserve.
Court documents filed by Pastor Ng’ang’a show that Kenya Railways had halted construction works on the land, prompting him to seek judicial protection.
He told the court that he is the lawful owner of the property and had already drawn up plans to develop a commercial complex comprising at least 20 shops, parking space and other social amenities.
The injunction was granted by Environment and Land Court judge Edward Wabwoto, who issued an interlocutory order restraining Kenya Railways Corporation from interfering with Pastor Ng’ang’a’s title or his “quiet and peaceful enjoyment” of the land pending the determination of the case.
In his court filings, Pastor Ng’ang’a accused the State agency of attempting to unlawfully dispossess him of the property after he notified it of his proposed development.
“When the respondent was notified of the proposed development, it manifested a clear intention to forcibly, unlawfully and without any justification or colour of right, alienate, dispose of or convert the said parcel of land on the pretext that it is a railway reserve,” he said in the application.
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