Pastors of 33 churches in Athi River, Mavoko, facing demolitions have finally spoken out about the impact on their places of worship.
Speaking to the press on Sunday, two pastors disclosed that their churches were spared from demolition, but the congregations had drastically diminished.
Theophilus Kyalo Kithome, the lead pastor of Holy Vision Center, noted that he was at a crossroads after noticing that church attendance on the most recent Sunday had paled compared to other worship sessions.
"To say the truth, we do not know what to do because everyone is in a rush to salvage their belongings since our congregation has left," he explained.
Earlier, the government announced that it would spare churches from demolitions to allow them to salvage their property.
Jesus Magnifying Center Pastor James Mwaniki, whose establishment was also open for a service, however, raised concerns over the duration his church would be allowed to operate.
He was grateful that churches had been given a window to vacate the premises but raised concerns over the fact that the exact duration was not specified.
"We were given a report that churches on this land will not be demolished and asked to stay for a while but we do not know how much longer," he told the press.
"These demolitions have affected a lot of people (including churchgoers) who have left but we are still open to praise the Lord."
This comes after President William Ruto on October 13 ordered the revocation of Portland title deeds, the land recovered and transferred to the Export Processing Zones (EPZ) in Athi River.
"I have given clear instructions to the management here that all speculators, people who have held titles to pieces of land for 10, 15, 20, 30 years without developing them, should be revoked so that we can give it to people who want to use this facility," he directed.
His directive was informed by a recent court ruling in which a suit filed in 2014 by a section of area residents was dismissed by a Machakos Court.
So far, property worth millions has been destroyed, attracting criticism from the opposition over the manner in which the demolitions were carried out.
On Wednesday last week, the County Assembly of Machakos passed a motion to fight for the victims of Mavoko demolitions.
The motion called for the County Assembly to be enjoined in the appeal against East Africa Portland Cement Company, which was awarded ownership of the contested land, leading to the demolitions.
