Mention the name Pastor James Nga’nga’a and what comes to the mind of many people is controversy.
One might actually be forgiven to think that the Pastor’s second name is controversy.
From Killing a Pedestrian and getting away with it, to threatening journalists, Pastor Nganga has done it all. It will also be remembered that he was at the center of a con-scheme when a businessman accused him of getting away with his millions.
City businessman Wickson Njoroge Mwathi accused Apostle James Maina Ng’ang’a of conning him out of more than Sh3 million. He claimed that police were reluctant to assist him recover the money.
The businessman claimed that Ng’ang’a flatly refused to refund Sh3.6 million in an abortive house lease agreement between him and the controversial preacher of Neno Evangelism Centre.
Njoroge accused the televangelist of dishonouring the agreement soon after receiving the amount paid to him on April 6, 2016.
He claimed police officers were siding with Ng’ang’a. The businessman had allegedly approached Ng’ang’a, the proprietor of a 17-bedroom house in Karen, where his four visitors – two Germans, one Chinese and a Korean – planned to stay for a period of six months.
Ng’ang’a agreed to lease the house along Kisembe Road, but on condition that Njoroge pays the entire six-moth rent in lump sum, plus an additional Sh900,000 as deposit. The monthly rent was to be Sh450,000.
For the period of six months, Njoroge was required to pay Sh2.7 million upfront. Njoroge says Ng’ang’a received the Sh 3.6 million in a single payment, but for some unexplained reasons, the preacher deliberately refused to surrender keys to the house after pocketing the cash.
“After two weeks of trying to get the keys from Ng’ang’a, my guests got tired of staying in a hotel and returned abroad,” says the real estate contractor. “My clients were certain that as soon as they land at the airport, I would take them straight to their house in Karen. But every time I went there, the security guard would inform me that he had not been given permission to allow me in,” said Njoroge.
According to Njoroge, the preacher received the cash at his Neno Evangelism Centre offices before personally heading to the bank to deposit the cash. The preacher acknowledged receiving the money.
Tired of fruitless follow-ups, the contractor reported the matter at Central Police Station and the case was booked with reference OB 50/20/5/17. He wanted the preacher charged for obtaining money by false pretence.
He later claimed that some officers told him Ng’ang’a bragged that “the matter will go nowhere”.