Christian couple facing charges in Sudan
A Christian couple from Sudan needs our prayers as they stand accused of apostasy now, on top of their past charges of adultery, despite the fact this is no longer a criminal offence under the country’s laws.
Nada Hamad Koko and her husband, Hamouda Teya Kaffi, were due to appear in court on September 15th for a hearing on charges of adultery when they learned a second criminal complaint had been filed against them, apostasy. The hearing was subsequently rescheduled, said John Samuel, Open Doors’ legal expert for sub-Saharan Africa.
The couple were both Muslim when they married in 2016. When, two years later, Hamouda converted to Christianity, Nada’s family forced her to have their marriage annulled by an Islamic, or Sharia, court.
In Sudan, it is unlawful for a Muslim woman to marry a non-Muslim man, and at the time leaving Islam was punishable by the death penalty.
Under so much pressure, they divorced and Nada and her two children returned to live with her family. Apostasy – leaving one’s faith to take up another – was decriminalized in 2020 which allowed the couple to be reunited in 2021 and Nada announced she, too, had become a Christian.
The family reported them to the authorities and they were arrested on charges of adultery, because the Sharia court had declared them divorced, and the prosecutor regarded Nada’s conversion as not valid. The couple, if found guilty of adultery, face a possible sentence of 100 lashes and a year in internal exile.
“The psychological pressure on Nada and Hamouda is high,” Samuel said. “This is another example of the challenges Christians from a Muslim background face, both socially and legally. Judges open cases to
intimidate and pressurize them to return to Islam and, even if charges are dropped, the accused become easily identifiable within their community and are subjected to greater threat and danger.”
Last month a court dismissed an apostasy case against four Christian converts from Darfur because leaving Islam formally is no longer a criminal offence in Sudan.
In recent months, fear among Sudan’s Christians has been growing that their country is sliding back into the control of Islamists
Sudan’s transition to civilian rule after 30 years of military dictatorship under former president Omar al-Bashir started in 2019 but was halted by a coup in October last year. Since then Sudan’s military has started to give influential positions to former members of the National Congress Party (NCP) and allies of al-Bashir. Under the NCP, with al-Bashir at the helm, a strict interpretation of sharia was introduced and institutionalized.
Please Pray
- Pray for Nada and Hamouda as they face new charges and are exposed to high levels of psychological pressure.
- Pray for the outcome of this court case to be in favour of Nada and Hamouda.
- Also pray for the leaders in this community, that God will work in their hearts and unveil their eyes.
