Pastor James Ng'ang'a's Bid to Settle Sh3.6 Million Fraud Case Out of Court Rejected

A Nairobi court has dismissed Pastor James Ng’ang’a’s application to settle a fraud case through an out-of-court agreement.

Ng’ang’a, who is the head of the Neno Evangelism Ministry, is accused of defrauding businessman Wickson Njoroge Mwathi of Sh3.6 million.

Ng’ang’a and Njoroge made a written agreement to resolve the matter through an alternative dispute resolution, but the court rejected the request after the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) said they are unaware of the application.

While dismissing the application, Milimani law courts magistrate David Ndungi said a criminal case cannot be withdrawn without the DPP’s consent.

The clergyman is said to have entered into a deal to lease a 7-bed-roomed apartment in Karen, Nairobi to Njoroge for Sh3.6 million in April 2016.

The agreement was signed at Pastor Ng’ang’a’s Neno Evangelism Center office located in Nairobi CBD. Njoroge wanted his visitors including two Germans, a Chinese and Korean to stay in the house for six months.

“After signing the lease agreement, I left the cash with my advocate to bank with the landlord (Pastor Ng’ang’a) and proceeded to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for a meeting,” the businessman told the court.

He said Ng’ang’a did not honor the agreement and also refused to refund the money, which included a six-month rent of Sh2.7 million and a deposit of Sh900,000.

“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,” Njoroge, a real estate contractor, said.

Ng’ang’a was released on Sh500,000 cash bail after denying charges of obtaining money by false pretense. 

The matter will be mentioned on October 14th.