A congregation in Omdurman, Sudan, fears its church building could be demolished at any time after local authorities issued a warning over the property, while the church’s ownership documents remain caught in government bureaucracy.
Land officials arrived without prior notice at the Sudanese Church of Christ (SCOC) in the Al-Murzouq area of Block 59 on 21 July and warned that the building was facing demolition. They claimed it had been constructed illegally on open public land, according to the church’s pastor.
Omdurman lies across the Nile River from Khartoum. The church building was constructed in the early 1980s, and its leaders say they hold legal title deeds and ownership documents dating back several decades.
Pastor Tia Alasara Malasa Kuku said church leaders presented the documents to the officials and challenged the proposed demolition. They were then instructed to take their papers to the land authorities in Kereri, Omdurman.
However, officials there directed them to the Ministry of Religious Affairs. The ministry subsequently referred the documents to the Department of Engineering Affairs and Urban Planning, where they remain pending.
“You know things to do with the churches are hard here,” Pastor Malasa Kuku said.
Authorities initially gave the congregation two weeks to resolve the matter. After that period expired, they granted a further week’s extension during the first week of August, the pastor said.
With the paperwork still awaiting a decision, the church fears the building could be demolished without further warning. The congregation has about 300 members.
“The church, which serves about 300 members, risks possible demolition at any time,” Pastor Malasa Kuku said. He added that officials intended to destroy the building on the grounds that it occupied public space, while church leaders believed they were being targeted.
The latest warning comes amid a wider history of church property disputes and demolitions in Sudan. Church leaders have repeatedly accused authorities of confiscating or destroying Christian properties and using planning regulations as a means of restricting religious activity.
In the Mayo Angola area of southern Khartoum, a Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church site received a similar warning on 7 June. A district planning director and a land department engineer told church leaders that the building could be demolished at any time.
The officials did not provide a demolition date but warned the congregation to “Be ready”, according to a source. They claimed the church had been built on a road and was situated on land not designated for religious use. Church leaders disputed both claims.
Christians in Sudan have long said that authorities have failed to allocate land for church buildings, leaving congregations vulnerable to demolition orders based on planning and zoning regulations.
The concerns follow the demolition of a church complex in Khartoum North on 8 July 2025. Bulldozers and trucks, accompanied by police and armed forces personnel, arrived at the Pentecostal Church compound in the El-Haj Yousif area of East Nile District and began demolishing the building around midday, according to local sources.
The complex, which included a worship hall and administrative offices, belonged to the Sudan Pentecostal Church denomination. It had been built in the early 1990s, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide.
Sources said officials initially gave no explanation for the demolition and did not ask church representatives to present ownership documents. Authorities later reportedly said the building had been removed as part of a campaign against “unregulated” structures across Khartoum State, according to Open Doors.
Christians called on the Sudan Council of Churches, an ecumenical body, to take notice of the demolition and what they described as a violation of religious freedom.
Sudan’s population is predominantly Muslim. According to Joshua Project, Muslims account for about 93 per cent of the population, followers of traditional ethnic religions 4.3 per cent and Christians 2.3 per cent.
Sudan ranked fourth among the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian in Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List, moving up from fifth place the previous year. The country had fallen outside the top 10 for the first time in six years in 2021, when it was ranked 13th.
Based on reporting by Morning Star News.
