Leaders of the PCEA Baraka Parish Church in Rongai have raised alarm over an affordable housing project they claim is set to be constructed on church-owned land without their knowledge or involvement.

The church leaders have strongly condemned their exclusion from a recent public participation forum organized to discuss the project, insisting that the land in question rightfully belongs to the church and is protected by a valid title deed.

“If that public participation had good intentions, they would have involved the church members who have the title deed to that land,” said one of the church leaders.

The leaders are now demanding that the government and relevant stakeholders include them in discussions and decision-making processes. They warned that they will not allow the project to proceed if the church is sidelined.

“As church leaders, we are telling the politicians involved that this is not the right way to go about things. If they do not involve the church, we will not allow this project to continue,” added another.

According to the church leaders, news of the proposed development came as a shock. They say they only learned about the project through unofficial channels, prompting them to attend the public meeting only to be turned away at the entrance.

“We were shocked when we heard that affordable houses were going to be built on church land. That’s when we decided to attend the meeting because we are also stakeholders, but we were denied entry because we didn’t have an invitation,” one of the leaders explained.

The incident has raised concerns among local residents and congregants, who now demand transparency and open dialogue in government-led development projects especially when private or communal land may be affected.

The church maintains that they are not opposed to affordable housing, but insist that any development must respect legal ownership and follow due process.