An Anglican priest was sent to prison "indefinitely" on April 7 for refusing to demolish the church he built himself eleven years ago on the outskirts of Khartoum. Judge Kamal Abd-Rahaman Alli ordered Rev. Samuel Dobai Amum to tear down St. Matthew's Parish in Takamol and surrender the land to its "rightful owner." Amum said that, while he would not resist the destruction of the building, he could not personally destroy a building devoted to God. In response, the judge sentenced him to prison until he destroys the building or pays 7 million dinars (over $3,700 CDN) to secure the land in the name of the church.
St. Matthew's Parish was established to meet the needs of refugees from southern Sudan, fleeing the ongoing conflict. In 1987 Amum built a chapel from straw in what was, at the time, unclaimed land as a place of worship for displaced Christians like himself. In 1992 it was rebuilt out of mud and straw. The church averages 150-200 members. Three years later, the government surveyed the area and, without notifying Amum, the church land was given to Awad Abdalla Bashir, a Muslim member of the Popular Committee of the local government. Soon afterwards, Bashir demanded payment from the priest for the plot of land. Initially he asked for 10,000,000 dinars but later reduced his demand to 7,999,000 dinars (over $4,200 CDN). Unable to pay such an amount of money, Amum declined and requested the courts to intervene on his behalf. Unfortunately, the court ruled against him and ordered him to demolish the building.
When a mosque is built on unclaimed land in Sudan, that land is considered community property. Apparently, the same cannot be said for Christian meeting places. In reporting the court case, a guest columnist wrote in the Khartoum Monitor, "Is it not religious discrimination? Because I am sure that if the church was a mosque, it shouldn't have been touched. Instead more land could have been added to it." According to their website (http://www.khartoum-monitor.com), the Khartoum Monitor was shut down by the government on May 8 because of articles it had written. The publisher, Nhial Bol, was also arrested on May 6 and held for 24 hours for questioning about three articles the paper had published regarding problems facing Sudan's Christian community, including the article on Amum's church.
Pray that this issue will be resolved and that St. Matthew's Parish will be able to keep its chapel. Pray for Rev. Amum as he remains in prison at this time.
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