Omdurman Church Faces Demolition Despite Valid Deeds
On July 21 officials announced a demolition plan for the Al-Marzouk sanctuary, which church leaders say sits on land covered by decades-old deeds.
Land authorities in Omdurman moved against the Sudanese Church of Christ building in the Al-Marzouk neighborhood, telling church officials the structure stood on open public land even though leaders hold ownership deeds and legal papers dating back decades.
On July 21, officials arrived at the church on Block 59 without prior notice and announced a plan to demolish the building. Rev. Tia al-Asara Mallasa Koko, the pastor, said the sanctuary was built in the late 1980s and that church leaders promptly submitted the deeds and documents proving their right to the land and the structure.
A File Passed From Office to Office
Authorities directed the congregation to the land office in Karari. That office sent the file to the Ministry of Religious Affairs, which forwarded it to the Engineering and Urban Planning Department. There the case remained without a final decision.
Officials first gave the congregation two weeks to settle the dispute, then extended the deadline by one more week during the first week of August. Government procedures have still produced no outcome. Mallasa Koko warned that the church, which serves about 300 people, risks losing its building “at any time.”
Church leaders regard the pressure as targeting their religious property rather than a routine administrative disagreement over land. They demand that the dispute be resolved in line with the legal documents already submitted, that the building not be demolished before ownership is decided, and that the right of Christians to worship and to protect their property be respected.
A Familiar Pattern for Sudanese Christians
The case fits a wider pattern of recurring complaints from Sudanese church leaders about the confiscation of church land and buildings and about complex administrative hurdles for registering property and safeguarding places of worship. In a country where Christian communities have long faced restrictions and insecurity, such threats strike at the heart of parish life: the permanent place where the faithful gather for the sacraments and the proclamation of the Gospel.
The Church teaches that religious freedom includes the right to own and maintain sacred spaces free from arbitrary seizure. For the faithful of Al-Marzouk, that right now hangs on whether civil authorities will honor documents the congregation has held for decades—or proceed with demolition before the question of ownership is settled.