Nairobi County Chief Environment Officer Geoffrey Mosiria has announced that the county will no longer pursue Pastor James Ng'ang'a's Ksh10 million in land rates for his CBD church and will be visiting his church on Sunday.
Speaking on Wednesday, Mosiria lauded the city pastor, claiming that he had invited him to attend his church this coming Sunday, an opportunity he stated he was willing to take to express gratitude to the pastor for complying with the county bylaws so far.
"After consultation and guidance and even soul-searching because we are also Christians, our boss advised that a church of God has to be waived and because of our governor, the church won't pay rates," he stated.
Mosiria further noted that the county was also going for a restaurant on the church's premises, which reportedly serves congregants, to ensure that it had complied with all necessary requirements.
In a subsequent post, the chief environment officer confirmed that the Neno Evangelism Centre had since paid for the required Unified Business Permit (UBP) for the restaurant.
He also debunked select media reports that the church had been locked, clarifying that county officials had visited the premises to follow up on outstanding county dues.
This waiver comes just a few days after Pastor Ng'ang'a vehemently opposed the county's attempt to have him pay the land rates, stating that the former Nairobi Governor, Mike Sonko, had waived the rates for churches in an executive order.
In an impassioned rant, the pastor relayed that Ksh10 million was just a drop in his vast wealth.
A day later, Sonko confirmed making the executive order exempting religious organisations and charity groups from paying land rates during his tenure.
"My attention has been drawn to a video clip of Pastor Ngang'a over the unpaid rates to the Nairobi City county government. Yes, the Pastor is right and without fear of contradiction, I vividly remember and do hereby confirm that I lawfully, through an executive order, gave a waiver to all religious institutions and organisations, including all mosques, madrasas, churches, and even homes for the aged, the poor and children's homes," he confirmed.
According to the former governor, the order was still in effect unless the current administration voided it, something that Pastor Ng'ang'a confirmed had not happened in his earlier statement.
"Write me a letter cancelling the waiver given by Mike Sonko, who was the governor. I've not declined to pay. Write me a letter saying you've revoked the waiver. You charge me your own rates through a letter. If you want cash, I'll give you cash," Pastor Ng'ang'a had stated.
