Controversial pastor James Nganga of Neno Evangelism Center suffered a setback yesterday after court declined to stop his prosecution.
Nganga has been desperately attempting to stop his prosecution over Ksh3.6m fraud case that has been dragging in court for years.
The controversial preacher was arrested on 6th April 2016 at his Neno Evangelism church office along Haile Selassie Avenue for attempting to obtain Ksh3.6m from Wickson Njoroge Mwathi by false pretense.
The man of cloth had lied to his unsuspecting victim that he was in a position of leasing to him his residential home in Karen.
Nganga, who was later arraigned at the Magistrates Court following his arrest, was released on cash bail of Ksh500,000.
In 2009 he attempted to petition the court to stop his prosecution claiming that his fundamental rights has been violated and that the trial would not grant him a fair hearing.
The court failed to stop Nganga’s prosecution then forcing him to strike a deal with his victim to settle the matter out of court.
However, on Wednesday October 6th 2021 the Magistrates Court dealt Nganga another blow after it declined to terminate pastor Nganga’s fraud case.
The court directed the complainant to appear in court as State Prosecutor Abel Omarimba continues consulting the Director of Prosecutions (DPP) on whether to initiate a process of withdrawing the case after the parties reached a consensual agreement.
“Article 157 of the constitution 2010 says that the DPP has the authority to terminate a case, I find that it unnecessary to record the statements of the complainant for the said settlement without the consent of the DPP. The current prosecutor needs time to consult with the authority concerning withdrawal of this matter,” the magistrate ruled.
Pastor Nganga has had a run-in with the law several times. In June 2015 he was arrested after he killed a pedestrian while he was allegedly drunk.
The controversial preacher ran over Mercy Njeri with his Range Rover. Witnesses said Nganga was driving at the time of the accident but police were involved an elaborate cover-up to help Nganga evade justice. He was acquitted along with police for lack of evidence.
In 2019, Nganga was once again arrested and charged with threatening to kill journalist Linus Kaikai over unfavorable media coverage.
