Sudan Church of 300 Members in Omdurman Faces Demolition Threat Despite Decades-Old Deeds
Land officials say the Sudanese Church of Christ building sits on public land; its pastor says the congregation has the title papers and believes it is being targeted.
See where this is ›OMDURMAN, Sudan —
A congregation of the Sudanese Church of Christ in Omdurman, Sudan, fears its church building in the Al-Murzouq area of Block 59 could be torn down at any time after local land officials declared it illegal, Morning Star News reported Nov. 3.
Land authorities arrived without warning on July 21 and said a demolition was planned, claiming the building stood on open public land, according to the report. Officials gave the church two weeks, then granted a one-week extension in early August.
Church leaders showed title deeds and ownership records going back decades for the building, which was reportedly put up in the early 1980s, Morning Star News said. Officials sent them from office to office until the papers ended up at the Department of Engineering Affairs and Urban Planning, where they remain stuck. Authorities have also claimed, without showing evidence, that the building sits on a road and on land not zoned for worship; the church denies this.
“The church, which serves about 300 members, risks possible demolition at any time,” Pastor Tia Alasara Malasa Kuku told Morning Star News. “You know things to do with the churches are hard here,” he said, adding that church leaders believe they are being targeted. A source said a lands official told the congregation simply, “Be ready.”
Morning Star News listed other recent cases in the capital area: a demolition threat on June 7 against a Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church site in the Mayo Angola area of southern Khartoum, and the July 8, 2025, demolition of a Pentecostal church complex in the El-Haj Yousif area of Khartoum North.
See where this is ›Sudan is about 93 percent Muslim, and Christians make up about 2.3 percent of the people, according to Joshua Project figures cited in the report. Open Doors ranks Sudan No. 4 on its 2026 World Watch List of the hardest places to be a Christian, up from No. 5 the year before.
What we don't know yet: Morning Star News is the only outlet reporting the case, and Watchman News has not independently confirmed the details. The report's latest concrete step is the August extension; it is not known whether officials have set a new date or ruled on the church's papers.
