A President, a Bishop and a Contested 20 Acres: Kenya’s Ruto Backs a Nairobi Church’s Claim to Army Land

• President William Ruto intervened to give a 20-acre Roysambu parcel to Bishop Edward Mwai’s Jesus Winner Ministry
• The Kenya Defence Forces had contested the land, once held by the collapsed Uchumi supermarket chain
• Ruto pledged Sh20 million towards a new chapel and a harambee to raise Sh100 million more
• Catholic and Anglican leaders had publicly rejected donations from his administration

Kenya’s President William Ruto intervened in a long-running land dispute in Nairobi’s Roysambu area in favour of Jesus Winner Ministry, the church led by Bishop Edward Mwai, AllAfrica reported on March 3, 2025. The 20-acre parcel had been contested by the Kenya Defence Forces and was previously held by the failed Uchumi Supermarket.

Ruto pledged money for the church’s building. “I will donate Sh20 million first, and we will plan a harambee…to raise Sh100 million,” he said. He praised the bishop and took a swipe at other clergy: “I wish the other bishops of other churches would have conducted themselves like Bishop Mwai.” He defended his church donations as acts of faith rather than politics. Catholic and Anglican leaders had publicly rejected donations from his administration and criticised its record on the economy and corruption.

The Daily Nation, in a separate account of what it called a Sh2.8 billion land saga, reported that the land had been compulsorily acquired in 1986 for a Kenya Army school, that Uchumi bought it in 2001 for Sh85 million, and that the church’s investment arm had paid a Sh330 million deposit to Uchumi for three acres. The Nation also reported that KDF was building 3,069 affordable homes for military personnel.

The case tangles church, state and commercial interests over one of the most valuable pieces of land in the city.

For Jamaican readers, the Roysambu saga is a lesson in how quickly a land deal can become political when a church is involved. A congregation that pays a deposit to a company in financial trouble, for land the state also claims, is exposed on every side. Churches buying land should insist on a clean, registered title and a seller with the undisputed right to sell, and should be wary of relying on political favour to settle a dispute that the paperwork cannot.

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