Sudanese authorities accused of demolishing Evangelical Church’s property
May 28, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – A former Sudanese official accused the military-led authorities of demolishing a property of the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SPEC) in Omdurman, describing the move as set back in religious freedoms after the October 25 coup.
On May 25, four trucks protected by a significant number of security forces started the demolishment of 2000-square-metre properties belonging to the Church in Omdurman including three homes rented to private tenants, three medical clinics, two laboratories, a pharmacy and a shop.
Some of the tenants succeeded to issue a court decision to stop the operation until the 7th of June as they were not informed of the first decision of the court.
“The intelligence service through its men in the church is behind what happened in the Omdurman Church,” Boutros Badawi a former adviser to the former Minister of Religious Affairs in the dissolved civilian government told the Sudan Tribune on Saturday.
He said that before the coup d’état, they were able to prevent several attempts to control real estate belonging to the church in strategic locations in a number of states across the country.
“But after the military coup, some people affiliated with the (formerly) ruling National Congress Party and collaborating with the security service have been reinstated and took control of the church”.
“Now they have started to implement their agenda by demolishing what remained of the Church’s property and giving it to other people with the knowledge of the military regime,” he added.
Two rival religious factions dispute the control of the church assets and real estate for long years. Despite several attempts to reconcile they challenge each other in courts claiming they have the right to manage and administrate the church.
Secretary-General of the Evangelical Church, Reverend Youssif Mattar, denied that the government had any hand in the demolition of properties belonging to the church.
What happened was “an eviction of old tenants who have been in the church-owned lands for more than 50 years according to a judicial order,” Mattar stressed in statements to the Sudan Tribune.
“They thought that these properties were heirs owned by them and turned them into homes, medical clinics and shops, and they did not commit to any money paid to the church.”
“They thought these properties were theirs and turned them into houses, medical clinics and shops. Also, they did not commit to paying any money to the church,” he added.
He added that the tenants received legal notices more than once but they did not comply.
Mattar further accused unnamed parties of providing international organizations with false information about the conditions of Christians in Sudan.
The secretary-general was alluding to a report released by the UK-based Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) on May 25, 2022, about the demolition of the SPEC properties in Omdurman.
“If this demolition is allowed it will be a disaster for the families and businesses who, without notice, could lose everything,” a church leader who asked not to be named told CSW.
(ST)