Africa-Press – South-Sudan. A lawmaker in the Transitional National Legislative Assembly has asked the Assembly’s leadership to summon fellow legislator Salva Mathok to explain why he allegedly burned down a church in Warrap.
Juol Nomngek, who brought up the issue on Monday during a meeting to consider changing the police Bill claimed that Mathok, a coworker, had completed his MP term.
“It was shocking when we saw an honourable MP in this parliament burning a church. He should be summoned to provide an answer and explanation why is he destroying the churches which should be protecteded [as stipulated in the constitution],” Nomngek said.
The First Deputy Speaker of the TNLA, Oyet Nathaniel asked Nomngek to provide the parliament with a written report on the alleged action by Mathok before the House take any action.
“So if a member is cited to have done that, of course, that one is a bridge of the constitution,” said Oyet.
On October 27, Mathok allegedly ordered the burning of a Seventh-Day Adventist church in Akeer-Abuok village, Gongrial East County. Mathok accused the pastors of preaching against “paying homage to other deities except for the God of the Bible,” a creed that did not sit well with the neighbourhood, which engages in traditional African forms of worship.
In a video that was allegedly captured after the incident, Mathok was heard lamenting that the church was preaching against the customs and pushing the locals to give up their age-old “ways of existence.”
The right to worship or gather in support of any religion or belief, as well as the right to establish and maintain places of worship and assembly, are all guaranteed by Article 8 of South Sudan’s constitution.
According to Article 23 of the constitution, all religions shall be treated equally and neither religion nor religious beliefs shall be utilized for reasons of division.
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