Inside leadership wrangles in Machakos church

Eaglerise Christian church was indefinitely closed on October 2, 2025.

After years of boardroom and courtroom battles, Presiding Priest Reverend Nahashon Mwangangi and the church’s leadership under Bishop Leonard Wambua, the fallout has now spilt into the open.

The standoff erupted on Sunday when Bishop Wambua, armed with an order from the Mavoko Law Courts restraining Mwangangi from accessing the church’s premises and attempted to install another Pastor, Emmanuel Kioko, as the former’s replacement.

The move was, however, fiercely resisted by worshippers, forcing officers from the Athi River police station to intervene before the situation degenerated into nearly fistfights. Mwangangi wasn’t in the church during the melee.

Mwangangi on Thursday vowed not to let the church go.

He said nobody had the moral authority to eject him from the church he single-handedly established from scratch in 2009.

Mwangangi said those pushing him to surrender the house of God hadn’t contributed even a single cent towards the purchase of the parcel of land it was erected or its construction.

The man of the cloth said he started the church in a friend’s 3-bedroom house in Athi River’s Embakasi estate in 2009. The friend offered him his sitting room to congregate with church members for Sunday prayers.

“I’m the one who founded this church in 2009. I started it in a friend’s house, later leased this land and eventually bought it and erected the church. We have been here for the last 16 years now,” he said.

He was responding to Eaglerise Christian church presiding Bishop Leonard Wambua’s statement that he (Mwangangi) had ceased to be the church’s pastor and a new person, Emannuel Kioko, had taken over.

“As a church, we won’t let go of a church we have bought land and constructed. Eaglerise never contributed even a single cent as a contribution to the land’s purchase or the church’s construction,” Mwangangi said.

Mwangangi referred to both Wambua and Kioko as strangers not only to the church, but Athi River community where the church has been for more than a decade now.

The church located at the Makadara shopping centre within Athi River Township was closed indefinitely after chaos erupted over leadership wrangles on Sunday.

The church has since remained locked following a nearly fist-fight between two factions of its leadership on Sunday.

There was no service conducted at the church after the wrangling went on for the better part of the day, with faithful taking sides.

Officers from the Athi River police station responded to the situation and restored calmness before the church was declared closed until a resolution is reached.

Some church members were shouting outside the church when the media arrived at the scene at 2.30 pm on Sunday. The church’s doors were later shut following the police officers' intervention, before a padlock was used to chain its gate.

Mwangangi had been barred from accessing the church premises by a court sitting in Mavoko Law Courts.

“There is a court order barring the Pastor of this church (Nahashon Wambua Mwangangi) from accessing the church; he has been restrained. Today, we came to present them a new pastor, Emannuel Kioko, but it looked like the former pastor (Mwangangi), who was restrained by the court, has mobilised his wife and sons to mobilize some locals against the new pastor,” Wambua told the Star at the church after the chaos.

Mwangangi warned Wambua against dragging members of his family into the church wrangles, stating that they were not part of the said suit.

Wambua didn’t dismiss Mwangangi’s claims that he hadn’t contributed a single cent towards the church’s construction.

“We have called them for a mediation meeting to make them understand the court order and ensure a smooth transition. This church isn’t personal property. The pastor had been suspended by the church’s National Committee for misconduct, and the court reinstated the suspension by telling him to wait until the matter is heard and determined,” Wambua said.

Mwangangi said that as a church, they could decide to disassociate with Bishop Wambua’s Eaglerise Christian church, maintaining that there is freedom of worship. Wambua also doubles as the Church’s National Council chairman.

“We won’t accept letting go of the church, which ‘mama mbogas’ sold vegetables and contributed money towards the purchase of land and its construction. Men hustled their way to contribute to the same. We won’t allow any outsider to come and interfere with the church,” Mwangangi said.

He said the wrangling heightened sometime in June this year when Wambua brought in Kioko to replace him in the church.

“Wambua wants me out since we disagreed on the way he runs Eaglerise Christian church. We partnered with the church so that we could work together. This church wasn’t constructed by Wambua, hence not his,” Mwangangi said.