Government ban on construction of new churches

The Sudanese Government says it will not allow construction of new churches in the country, writes Fredrick Nzwili.

Shalil Abdullah, the minister for Guidance and Religious Endowments, made the announcement on Saturday, saying it had stopped issuing permits for construction of the churches.

The minister told journalists the existing churches could serve those Christians remaining after the independence of South Sudan in 2011, which had led to a “significant drop” in Christian numbers. On 1 July, the authorities demolished a Sudan Church of Christ building in Khartoum.

The announcement comes only a few weeks after Sudan faced massive international criticism over the sentencing of a Christian woman to hang for apostasy. The case against Meriam Ibrahim, 27, was dropped last month, but she cannot leave the country after being handed new charges. The US State Department says it is working to get Ms Ibrahim, her husband and their two children – currently in the US embassy in Khartoum – out of the country.