In Omdurman, a city that lies across the White Nile from Khartoum, the Sudanese Church of Christ (SCOC) is confronting a looming threat of demolition. Local land authorities visited the church on July 21, warning that the building—constructed in the early 1980s—was allegedly erected on open public land and therefore illegal.
Pastor Tia Alasara Malasa Kuku explained that the congregation had already presented property title deeds and ownership documents that trace back decades. Despite these records, officials instructed the church to submit the papers to the Kereri land office, where they were then forwarded to the Ministry of Religious Affairs. From there, the documents were sent to the Department of Engineering Affairs and Urban Planning, where they remain stalled.
Initially, the authorities granted the church a two‑week window to resolve the issue. After that period expired, an additional one‑week extension was offered in early August. Yet the paperwork has not progressed, leaving the church’s future uncertain.
“The church, which serves about 300 members, risks possible demolition at any time,” Pastor Kuku said. “The authorities plan to destroy the building in the name of it being built on an open public space as the government claims, but we church leaders say we are being targeted.”
Sudan’s record of confiscating church property is part of a broader pattern of religious persecution. In the Mayo Angola area of southern Khartoum, a similar threat was issued to a Presbyterian Evangelical Church on June 7, with officials warning that the building could be demolished at any time without a set date.
Church leaders consistently deny that their sites are built on roads or on land not zoned for religious use. They argue that the lack of designated church land and the use of such claims as pretexts for demolition reflect systematic discrimination against Christians in a country that is 93 percent Muslim.
Source: Christian News Network
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