This archive report was first published on 29 August 2019.
Published on August 29, 2019, questions over the multimillion-shilling assets of the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) are likely to influence members’ decisions during the organisation’s meeting today.
The wrangling over the election of General Secretary Canon Peter Karanja’s successor is linked to the control of the organisation’s properties, including the three-star Jumuia hotels in Mombasa, Nakuru, and Kisumu, and Tumaini House in Nairobi’s Central Business District.
The NCCK also co-owns Ufungamano House in Nairobi with the Catholic Church and Jumuia in Limuru, as well as the building that houses its headquarters off Lenana Road.
The organisation’s daily income from the Jumuia hospitals it runs in Kakamega, Kaimosi, and Huruma, Nairobi, is also a point of contention.
Some members accuse Canon Karanja of influencing the election of his successor to avoid questions about the management of the organisation’s properties, including the purchase of an expansive parcel of land in Limuru and the sale of a prime seven-acre parcel of land in Buru Buru, Nairobi.
Questions have also been raised about NCCK’s remittance of statutory deductions from employees’ salaries.
When approached for comment, the NCCK boss declined, saying, “Just write the story with the information you have, I’m in a meeting. There is no comment from me.”
Others have threatened to move to court to overturn the election if they do not get justice after today’s special Annual General Meeting.
