Office Towers, a Gated Estate and a Beach Hotel: Kenya’s Churches Bet Billions on Real Estate

• The Catholic Church invested more than Sh500 million in a 10-storey office block at Nairobi’s Holy Family Basilica
• CITAM launched a Sh7 billion gated community of 130 homes on 72.5 acres in Karen
• The Catholic-owned Pacis Insurance opened a Sh400 million commercial building
• Cardinal John Njue said real estate helps the church become self-reliant

Kenya’s churches have become significant property investors, Construction Kenya reported on November 20, 2014, with projects ranging from office towers to gated housing.

The Roman Catholic Church invested more than Sh500 million in a 10-storey office block at the Holy Family Basilica in Nairobi, built by Zhongxing Construction Company. Pacis Insurance, owned by the Catholic Church, opened a Sh400 million, six-storey commercial building on Waiyaki Way in June 2013. “It is [the move to join the real estate industry] to help the church to be self-reliant to handle its missions,” Cardinal John Njue said.

Christ is the Answer Ministries (CITAM) launched La Nyavu Gardens in May 2013, a Sh7 billion gated community of 130 housing units on 72.5 acres in Karen. The PCEA Foundation bought Milele Beach Hotel on the north coast in 2007 and runs lodges around the country. Jesus Is Alive Ministries proposed Glory Twin Towers, a 12-storey building with “a five-star hotel, conference room, banking hall, supermarket, office space” at its Haile Selassie Avenue headquarters.

The investments were intended to give churches independent income so that missions and services were not wholly dependent on collections.

Jamaica’s churches are major landowners too, but few have developed their holdings on this scale. The Kenyan examples show the range of options: commercial offices on church land, housing estates, hospitality and insurance. Each carries risk, and each needs professional management and transparent accounts. But for congregations looking to fund schools, clinics and outreach without relying solely on the offering plate, a well-planned property investment can provide steady income for decades.

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