Three years later, Nakasongola land dispute between church and parliament persists

JUBA – The Nakasongola land dispute has resurfaced, with both the National Legislative Assembly and the church claiming ownership, amid accusations and ongoing back-and-forth.

The two parties provided conflicting accounts regarding their possession of legal documents for the land in question.

Oliver Mori, the spokesperson for the House, responded to a social media critic, Mr. Onen Jok, denying the allegation that the disputed land belonged to Christ Nakasongola Church, calling it “misleading.”

“Our attention has been drawn to a misleading video circulating on social media regarding parliament plot No.02/block 1st class parliament quarter,” he said.

“The parliament categorically refutes the claims made in the video and urges the public to disregard them as baseless and misleading,” he added.

Mori explained that the land in question was allocated in 1972 by Greater Equatoria leaders to host a regional government under Moulana Abel Alier Kuac. He said that internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees, including the church, were allowed to settle on the disputed land. However, they were later compensated to vacate it.

“While the Congolese and South Sudanese pastor Jambo of Nakasongola were compensated in cash and kind to build their churches in a process overseen by Deputy Speaker Daniel Awet Akot in 2011,” Mori clarified.

In providing historical context, Mori stated that the effort to reclaim the land dates back to former Speaker Anthony Lino Makana, who intended to clear the area for the construction of an ultramodern assembly building.

He further clarified that Speaker Nunu Kumba and the Central Equatoria State SPLM were not involved in the land dispute. Moreover, parliament urged the public to rely on verified facts and to avoid being misled by purveyors of fake news.

“After Nakasongola was resettled in Lokulili, a church structure was provided in the area. However, in 2021, the pastor attempted to reclaim the parliament land, leading to legal and security issues,” he said.

“In conclusion, the issues of the parliament land should not be personalized or blamed on the current speaker, as it is a public property,” he concluded.

Mori also denied receiving any official statement from the East African Court of Justice.

Meanwhile, Pastor David Jambo, son of the late founder Pastor Jambo, urged parliament to rebuild the demolished Nakasongola church, emphasizing that all legal documents from the Ministry of Housing show the land belongs to the church.

“Our stance as Christ Church Nakasongola is for the government to rebuild our church because that land doesn’t belong to the government or parliament, but it belongs to the church, with proof from the Ministry of Housing that the land belongs to the church,” he said.

“Whoever demolishes the church, whether Speaker Nunu Kumba or whoever he is – let him rebuild our church because this is a place of worship where all South Sudanese pray, not an individual church,” he added.

Pastor David denied any compensation claims, whether in cash or kind, and questioned why the church would insist on staying if it had already been compensated. He called on parliament to produce documents for the alleged land allocation, including signatures or bank statements showing who received the cash, asserting that Lokulili had yet to be demarcated.

The clergyman also revealed that the land in question had been approved by former governor Clement Koanga and General Augustino Jadalla, the current governor of Central Equatoria State.

Pastor David further questioned why parliament denied receiving a letter from the East African Court of Justice, while the church holds or possesses a parliament response to their court case at the East African Court of Justice.

“This is EAC Court lying, and bribery is not accepted there. They took all those fake papers to the EAC Court of Justice, and the court informed us that all these papers are fake because they responded after the deadline,” he claimed.

Rev. Michael Kenyi Lemi, General Overseer in the Bishop’s office of Christ Church Nakasongola, echoed the same message, urging the government to produce those who allegedly received the compensation cash.

“The money was given to who? Because our late pastor never told us he signed for any money. We have been under his leadership until now, and when he left us, he never signed any money from the government,” he said.

“If it is a lie, then prove me right. Let them produce those documents. The person who might have signed for the money is the one who sold the church to the government,” he added.

In July 2024, police reported that four people were injured by gunshots after armed men attacked government security at the church behind the National Legislative Assembly. One student, identified as Deng Makhon, later succumbed to his injuries.

In May 2022, the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs served an eviction letter to Nakasongola Church residents, requesting them to vacate the premises. This prompted five religious leaders to sue the national government at the East African Court of Justice, accusing it of attempting to confiscate church land.

The church’s defense lawyer, Wani Santino Jada, said that Nakasongola Church had been the rightful owner of the land behind the National Legislative Assembly for more than 40 years.