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Bishop Margaret Wanjiru gets emotional as gov't demolishes part of her church property

Bishop Margaret Wanjiru in hospital following church invasion | Pulselive Kenya

Denis Mwangi

A heavy police presence was reported at the Jesus is Alive Ministries church in Nairobi’s Central Business District on Wednesday, March 6.

Speaking to the media, Bishop Wanjiru said that she could not believe that part of her church property was being demolished.

"I wasn't campaigning to be repaid like this. I wasn't campaigning for land grabbers to come and start claiming that out church property is their property," she said.

Bishop Wanjiru said that she suspected the government is involved in the demolition, despite being among those who campaigned for President William Ruto's government.

Bishop Margaret Wanjiru at Jesus is Alive Ministries in Nairobi

Bishop Wanjiru said that she feels betrayed by the UDA government she campaigned for

"They have seized our properties, and they have beaten us. In fact I have to go to hospital for treatment," she stated.

The sudden demolition has sparked speculation and raised questions about the circumstances surrounding the action.

"If anybody in the Kenya Kwanza government can touch my properties, how about the ordinary person who has nobody to help them," the bishop spoke.

She added that police officers were supervising the demolition of parts of the church.

Bishop Wanjiru was also taken to hospital for treatment following the incident.

Bishop Margaret Wanjiru receiving treatment at a Nairobi hospital on March 6, 2024

The case dates back to a feud that challenged the construction of a wall between Kenya Railways' land and Bishop Wanjiru's church.

The former MP claimed that the ongoing development was blocking access to Railway Lane, Exchange Lane, Weruga Lane, and Haile Selassie Avenue.

However in 2020, Justice Lucy Kimongoi ruled that the Bishop Wanjiru did not prove that the development was encroaching into her properties.

The judge found that the balance of convenience favored Kenya Railways Corporation, which owns the land, and dismissed the petitioners' request to order Kenya Railways to demolish the wall.

Bishop Margaret Wanjiru speaking to the media during a past engagement

The Bishop Wanjiru argued that her properties had been blocked, and rights to the protection of property under the law had been violated, but Kenya Railways asserted that the allocations to those properties were done irregularly and hived off from its property, and that the alleged wall being constructed is within its own property and not on a public road as claimed.

Wanjiru was born in Nairobi as the third child into a very vulnerable family of casual workers.

Despite the many challenges that come with poverty, her mother was able to put her through both primary and high school.

By the time she was 17 years old, Wanjiru was paying her way through college by working numerous jobs.

She worked as a house girl, hawker, a toilet cleaner, car cleaner and office cleaner. On graduation from college she earned herself a position as sales girl.

She then became a sales and marketing executive for a multinational firm in the city and went on to form her own business

Today she is the founder and presiding Bishop of the Jesus Is Alive Ministries (JIAM), an international Christian organization with headquarters in Nairobi Kenya.

In 2007, Margaret Wanjiru made her foray into politics, successfully clinching the Starehe parliamentary seat on an Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) ticket.

She garnered significant support from her constituents, owing in part to her reputation as a grassroots mobilizer and her extensive work within the community.

During her tenure as an MP, Wanjiru remained active in both political and religious spheres, often blending the two in her public engagements.

Bishop Margaret Wanjiru on the campaign trail in Nairobi together with Dr William Ruto on March 17, 2022

However, her political career was not without controversy. In 2012, she was embroiled in a highly publicized altercation with fellow ODM member Rachel Shebesh during a nomination exercise, which resulted in both women sustaining injuries.

Following her defeat in the 2017 general elections, Wanjiru retreated from the political scene but continued her work as a pastor and community leader.

Bishop Margaret Wanjiru in hospital following church invasion

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