• Three people were on Saturday arrested in Nairobi’s Buru Buru estate as they tried to demolish a church.
• Sonko received a distress call from members of the church who had been attacked by the youth.
Image: GPS
Three people were on Saturday arrested in Nairobi’s Buru Buru estate as they tried to demolish Citam church.
The arrested suspects, Stephen Ouma, Alex Matheka and Peter Mulama will remain in police custody untill Monday when they will be arraigned in court.
Their arrest came after Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko stormed the area stopping the planned demolition by armed youth who had been hired by a private developer.
According to Sonko, he received a distress call from members of the church who notified him of the evictions.
On Sonko's arrival at the Church premises, three people who were among the group hired to conduct the demolition were arrested.
Crude weapons including pangas were recovered by police.
Speaking after securing the church which which also houses a school for over 300 kids, Sonko vowed to ensure justice is done to stop grabbing of the land where the church is built.
“This is a heinous act. Where on earth can one demolish a church and grab land? We cannot allow this to happen in Nairobi. We must respect human beings regardless of their status whether rich or poor," he said.
Sonko added, " I will be the first person to die for defending the poor. The riotous youth were heavily armed, but I thank God we have rescued some church members who were being attacked and about six of them are recuperating in hospital with injuries".
The governor said Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai to take action against police officers from Buru Buru who accompanied the armed youths to demolish the church and school.
“I want to assure all Nairobians that no land will be grabbed under my watch. No matter how rich one is or how well connected they are, we must respect all people," he said.
Sonko said it is evil for one to have an appetite that drives him to demolish even a church.
Image: GPS
According to Sonko, the man behind the grabbing of the church is a well-known land grabber who is using court orders to take over parcels of land in Nairobi.
"He has several cases of land grabbing and we will take action against him. He even instructed the hired goons to attack us but we managed to contain them,” said Sonko.
Florence Mwaura, a Principal at the school within the Church premises said she reported the case at Buruburu police station on Saturday morning under OB number OB 9/25/52019 after the armed youths stormed the church compound and started demolishing structures.
“We leased the premises for 10 years from the Glad Tidings Crusade Ministry and they allowed us to put temporary structures for the last 7 years and we wonder how the alleged owners acquired the property.