False Alarm: The Truth Behind Pastor Ng’ang’a Church Demolition Reports
Claims circulating online that Apostle James Ng’ang’a’s Neno Evangelism Ministry Church in Nairobi had been demolished have been confirmed as false, after checks showed the images used to support the claims were artificially generated.
The claims began spreading on Tuesday, 20 January, after undated photographs appeared on social media showing an excavator seemingly tearing into the church building while people stood nearby. The images were shared with captions alleging that government agencies had cleared the site to allow for railway expansion. The posts spread rapidly and were widely shared across several platforms.
An analysis conducted by Kenyans.co.ke found that the images were not authentic. Multiple AI detection tools, including AI Image Detector and NoteGPT, indicated a high likelihood that the photographs were generated using artificial intelligence rather than taken at a real demolition site.
Several visual inconsistencies supported this conclusion. These included debris falling in unnatural patterns, distorted textures in the rubble, and warped branding on the excavator. The figures shown as bystanders appeared blurred and poorly defined, there was no visible operator inside the machinery, and the excavator’s position relative to the building was implausible.
No confirmation of any demolition was issued by government departments, Nairobi County officials, or the National Police Service. At the time the claims were being shared, the church building remained intact and continued to host services, with no indication of an official clearance or enforcement action.
The false reports emerged at a time when Kenya Railways Corporation has been carrying out legitimate demolitions of structures built on railway land in parts of Nairobi. On 14 January, properties including a car wash linked to Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi were demolished during an operation that damaged vehicles and disrupted businesses.
