Kiambu politician Gladys Chania, who has been detained at Lang’ata Women's Prison since October 2022 for the murder of her husband, George Mwangi, has found herself in a new dispute with the Salvation Army Church over control of its assets, just a few months after her release on bail.
Ms Chania, who unsuccessfully campaigned for the Kiambu Women Representative seat in two consecutive elections, has been in prison since her arrest and arraignment before the Kiambu High Court, where she and her farmhand, Maurice Mbugua, were charged with the brutal murder of George Mwangi.
The victim was found dead on October 8, 2022 at his home in Mangu, Gatundu North, and his body was found in Kieni Forest.
Gladys Chania and Morris Mbugua when they appeared before a Kiambu court on October 17, 2022.They are the suspects in the murder of Rwanda based businessman George Mwangi.
Photo credit: Pool I Nation Media group
After the body was discovered, Ms Chania told detectives that Mr Mwangi had walked downstairs from their matrimonial home in Mangu on the morning of October 9 and never returned.
Detectives later revealed that Mr Mwangi had been killed inside his house, as blood-stained clothes and knives reportedly used in the murder were found inside the house. Ms Chania was immediately arrested as the prime suspect.
John Mwangi, a former farmhand of the deceased who had previously been arrested and detained over the killing of his boss, is now a state witness in the case.
In a fresh twist, Ms Chania is now suing the Salvation Army Church in Thika, where she is a member, for evicting her from a rental property owned by the religious institution that housed her non-governmental organisation, Right At Home Rehabilitation Centre, in Thika, Kiambu County.
Ms Chania accuses the Salvation Army Church in Thika of evicting her from the premises nearly six years ago, even before she was arrested for murder.
On Sunday, August 28, 2025, Samuel Kang’ara of the Salvation Army was arrested by Thika Police Station officers after a church service. This followed a claim by Gladys Chania that he had led his congregation in breaking into a rented space owned by the Salvation Army in 2019, allegedly destroying her infrastructure in the process.
Mr Kang'ara has been released on cash bail of Sh20,000 and denies any involvement.
Ms Chania is referring to an incident in which the church evicted her in 2019 for non-payment of rent, which had reportedly accumulated to Sh3.5 million. The Salvation Army Church in Thika then moved the matter to a rent tribunal, which secured orders to evict her.
The home of Gladys Chania (inset left) and her late husband, businessman George Mwangi (inset left). She is charged with murder in Mwangi's death.
Photo credit: | Nation Media Group
Ms Chania later took the matter to court, and it was heard on July 11, 2023.
Ms Chania presented no witnesses, despite a court having issued a production order, and the prosecution requested an adjournment or, alternatively, to be allowed to withdraw the case.
In its ruling, the court allowed the state's application and discharged Mr Kang’ara, withdrawing the trial after the plaintiff failed to appear in court and testify. However, the court left open the possibility of revisiting the case if new material facts emerge.
The church opposed this, maintaining that it is not an absolute acquittal and that Ms Chania has a personal vendetta against Mr Kang'ara of the Salvation Army Church in Thika. They appealed against the decision.
"We note that the complainant has a personal vendetta against Kang’ara, who was only executing the instructions of the church to evict her from the church premises for failure to pay rent amounting to millions of shillings," lawyers for Mr Kang’ara said in court filings.
Apart from the murder case, Ms Chania has also previously been in legal trouble over promises to help people find jobs in the United Kingdom and the USA.
