A missing land file, a fresh invasion by armed goons and a court order protecting the property have plunged the Salvation Army Church into a new battle over 964 acres of land worth an estimated Sh4 billion.
The church says armed men invaded the disputed property near Del Monte Kenya on September 5 and again on September 8, overpowering its security guards, subdividing the land and erecting beacons despite a court order restraining interference with its ownership and use of the property.
The latest confrontation has added a new twist to a long running ownership dispute involving the church, the Murang’a County government and groups claiming rights to the land, while the church says its own file has mysteriously disappeared from the land registry.
The church told the Daily Nation on Saturday that it reported the invasion at Ngati Police Station under OB Number 16/09/09/2026, but no action had been taken. It claims the alleged grabbers have continued operating under the watch of police officers.
“The Salvation Army Church is concerned regarding a land-grabbing attempt on their portion of land at Thika near Del Monte Kenya. On Saturday, September 5, 2026, and on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, goons invaded the land and started subdividing the land. They were armed with crude weapons, and our security guards were overpowered,” the Salvation Army Church in Thika said in a statement that formed the basis of the report made at Ngati Police Station.
The disputed land straddles Kiambu and Murang’a counties and has for years been at the centre of a bitter ownership dispute involving different groups, individuals and the Murang’a County government.
The church now alleges that a powerful Cabinet Secretary from the Mount Kenya region is recruiting young people to pose as squatters and claim legitimacy over idle land by telling them that their forefathers and parents worked on the farms and are therefore entitled to a share.
“There is a dangerous pattern where a CS from the Mount Kenya region is using vulnerable youth, promising them a share of land by acting as proxies, and it has reached a sad point where even church land is not spared either,” Major Samuel Kang’ara, one of the Salvation Army Church administrators, told the Daily Nation on Saturday.
Mr Kang’ara said the church became increasingly concerned after officials visited the Murang’a Land Registry and Ardhi House to conduct searches, only to be informed that its file was missing.
In November 2024, the Salvation Army Church Kenya moved to court seeking to stop the county government from interfering with the property after the administration of Governor Irungu Kang’ata placed a public notice inviting eligible bidders to submit proposals for outsourcing quarry mining operations on the land for a renewable one-year period.
Muranga County Governor Irungu Kang'ata.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
The trustees of the Salvation Army Churches subsequently filed a case claiming they were the registered owners of the property under a 945-year lease running from 1962.
“At all material dates, the Petitioner is the Registered Proprietor of all that known as Land Reference Number 10531 originally No. 9213/2, delineated on the Land Survey Plan Number 75069 under Grant Number 19076 for a term of 945 years from 1.8.1962,” the church said in its court filings.
The Thika Environment and Land Court initially issued an order restraining Murang’a County from carrying out any operations on the disputed property pending an inter partes hearing.
However, in March 2025, the Environment and Land Court in Thika, presided over by Justice Jackline Mogeni, dismissed the church’s case, holding that the land belonged to the Murang’a County government.
Justice Mogeni noted that allowing the case to proceed could open the door for other groups to claim ownership of the same property, citing an earlier ruling delivered by Justice Lucy Gacheru on July 6, 2023, which had ruled in favour of the county.
The 2023 judgment arose from a petition filed by Samuel Irungu Muiruri, John Njoroge Gacho, Erastus Kinuthia Kibe, Julius Kanyiri Wambui and Mercy Mugecci on behalf of 850 others, who had claimed ownership of the land.
Murang’a County has since relied on Justice Gacheru’s 2023 judgment as the basis for its claim to the property.
But the dispute has taken a fresh turn after the Salvation Army trustees challenged Justice Mogeni’s decision, arguing that she erred in law by relying on a judgment in which the church had not been a party.
In its fresh filings, the church says it was never served with the earlier proceedings and was not allowed to present its title deed for Land Reference Number 10531, originally known as 9213/2.
It argues that this violated the principles of natural justice, particularly the right to be heard, and that a court cannot rely on proceedings in which a party was denied an opportunity to present its evidence.
On April 10, 2026, the Salvation Army Churches filed an application at the Environment and Land Court in Murang’a seeking to be enjoined as an interested party.
On May 26, Justice M.N. Gicheru allowed the application, setting aside the July 6, 2023 judgment and ordering a fresh hearing.
The judge also issued a temporary injunction restraining Murang’a County and its agents from trespassing on, evicting occupants from, or interfering with the disputed property.
“That a temporary injunction is hereby issued restraining the 6th respondent (Murang’a County), their agents, servants, employees, representatives and anyone acting under their instructions, jointly or severally, from entering, trespassing upon, interfering, evicting, harassing, threatening or in any way dealing with the applicants’ ownership and enjoyment, or conducting any other activities on property Land Reference Number 10531 (Originally No. 9213/2) pending the hearing and determination of this application inter partes,” Justice Gacheru ruled.
The judge further ordered a review, variation and/or setting aside of the judgment delivered by Justice Gacheru on July 6, 2023, together with any consequential orders arising from it.
The matter is scheduled to return to court next month, even as the church faces a new challenge on the ground following the reported invasion and subdivision of the disputed 964 acres.
