The Helicopter Church has erected and rented structures on riparian land and blasts earsplitting music that disrupts residential communities.
A Nairobi Assembly committee has recommended it be shut down.
MCAs told the assembly the Helicopter Church has erected its establishment on riparian land and its thunderous music disturbs the peace and disrupts normal lives in the neighbourhood.
The committee chaired by MCA Alvin Palapala was empaneled by the house to work on the complaint petition by residents of Langáta.
They said the the Helicopter Church was inconsiderate of the residents of their neighborhood as it may not quite have broken the sound barrier barrier but it blared used loud music that disturbed the estate.
Also, they complained the church was backfilling Nairobi Dam riparian lands to erect structures as part of developing its establishments.
The petition was committed to the panel in December last year.
The 25-member committee conducted hearings and field visits. Members spoke to the church’s leadership.
It recommended Governor Johnson Sakaja's administration invokes the authority that may have allowed the outfit to occupy the space.
The church is located behind the Langáta Women’s Prison.
The committee report indicates the owner of the church claimed to have a temporary occupancy license from the county.
The owner has backfilled the land in question and constructed iron sheet houses rented out to members of the public for residential purposes, the committee report read. Residents cited the houses on riparian land.
The committee found the owner of the outfit was given the licence he claimed to have, but it was cancelled in 2016.
County executives also told the committee the land in question lies below Kenya Power heavy lines and, hence, is deemed illegal.
The report says that the church owner, Bishop Thomas, did not make a substantive case before the committee.
It said while he showed up at the assembly precincts on the day the committee was sitting, he refused to appear before it and did not pick calls.
The committee recommended the “county executive immediately remap, fence off the dam and demolish illegal structures allegedly erected by the owner of Helicopter Church and any other person on Nairobi Dam’s riparian land."
It set a three-month deadline from the date of its communication and said a progress report on should be forwarded to the committee.
The committee also recommended that “the county executive committee member for built environment and urban planning conduct an audit on all riparian lands in the county and ensure that no encroachment is entertained on any reserves.”
Conflict about churches establishing premises in residential estates is not new.
Estates like Karen and Runda have had to resort to court action against churches for establishing a presence in their areas and complained they cause noise pollution.
The Runda Residents Association sued to stop construction of a church in the neighborhood, a case referred to the environment tribunal.
Helicopter church is not new to controversies.
Early last year, the owner of the outfit, Bishop Thomas Wahome, was forced to deny media reports that he was charging his congregants Sh1,000 to tell them whether they would enter heaven.
“I’m a man of God and I only believe in what the Holy Bible says. There’s nowhere in the Bible where pastors are given the power to tell whether anyone will enter heaven or not," he said.
"The reports alleging that I asked for money to tell people’s fate in heaven are false. Even my congregants can attest to that,” the preacher had told media outlets in February 2022.
In March 2014, Wahome was reported as saying he would celebrate the exorcism of his 12,000th demon.
