Catholic Church looted in Twic County as suspects flee with altar and desks

JUBA – Suspected thieves looted a Catholic church in Twic County over the weekend in a nighttime raid, making away with church property including an altar table and desks, church officials said.

The attack took place at Tiit-Adool village, part of St. Mother Teresa Catholic Church, where unknown assailants broke into the church and fled with items used for worship.

Speaking to Sudans Post on Tuesday, James Ariath, the catechist at the local church, said the incident caught the community by surprise and described it as an attack on a sacred institution.

“We were shocked at seeing the premises brought down to its knee as such how comes to loot the premise like this by taking away the altar and desks. It looks like these are people who are not too content with the church leaders” he wondered.

“I am appealing to the people in and around the church to make sure that the culprits are make known to the public so that this incident does not repeat itself” He beseeches.

Ariath called for respect for religious institutions and warned against what he described as reckless acts that could have serious consequences.

“This is a house of God, let’s make it clear here that it is a Holy place and is revered as sacred, never repeat this again next time as we shall make sure the steel doors are installed “: He revealed.

The incident is not the first targeting of a church in the area. Earlier this year, a Seventh Day Adventist Church was ransacked in parts of Turalei town following tensions linked to its activities and doctrines, residents said.

In a separate earlier incident in Tonj South County of Warrap State, a Seventh Day Adventist church was burned down on the directives of a former member of parliament, Salva Mathok, according to local accounts.

Church leaders have urged residents to avoid taking the law into their own hands when disputes arise and to seek legal remedies instead of resorting to attacks on places of worship.

Attacks on churches and other religious institutions have occurred repeatedly in South Sudan since independence, often driven by local disputes, political tensions or clashes between communities and religious leaders.

While many incidents involve looting, vandalism or arson, others have followed disagreements over land, doctrine or the conduct of clerics.

Many of these attacks have occurred in remote rural areas, where a large proportion of the population still adheres to traditional African belief systems, and where churches are sometimes viewed as culturally intrusive or as competing centres of authority alongside customary leadership structures.

Churches linked to denominations such as the Catholic Church and the Seventh Day Adventist Church have been among those targeted in different parts of the country, including in Central Equatoria, Jonglei and the Greater Bahr el Ghazal region.

Warrap State, and particularly counties such as Tonj South, Twic and Gogrial East County, has recorded several high-profile attacks on churches over the past decade.

In October 2022, former deputy interior minister and lawmaker Salva Mathok Gengdit publicly admitted to burning down a Seventh Day Adventist Church in Gogrial East County, accusing it of undermining traditional culture.

Speaking at a funeral in Gogrial East, Mathok accused the church of promoting immorality and destroying ancestral shrines long used by local communities.

“There is a church called Seven Day; what they are doing here! I chased them last time, and now they are back, destroying traditional shrines and shrines from our ancestors. That’s our way of life. This morning, I burnt down of these churches,” Mathok said at the time.

“During the day, the congregation will be praying, and at night, you will see girls in a mosquito net with a man, and they say it’s a word of God,” Mathok added.

Rights groups and church leaders at the time condemned the remarks and the attack, warning that repeated targeting of places of worship risked deepening already fragile community relations in rural Warrap, where cycles of revenge violence, traditional justice disputes and weak law enforcement have complicated efforts to protect civilian infrastructure, including schools and churches.

A 2024 assessment by Freedom House said South Sudan’s interim constitution formally guarantees religious freedom, but protection in practice remains weak, particularly during periods of political and ethnic tension.

The group noted that houses of worship used as shelters for civilians have previously come under armed attack by gunmen pursuing members of rival communities.

It also cited the 2021 arrest of Prophet Abraham Chol Maketh of the Kush International Church after he predicted the removal of President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar, adding that Chol was sentenced to 31 months in prison in December 2022 before being released in March 2023 after nearly two years in detention.