Somaliland Authorities Crackdown on a Local House-Church, Blame Ethiopian Missionaries

Update# 1

Sunday, 27 September 2020: 12:30 AM

Horn of Africa Time

The latest update received by SFJ indicates that the detained couple is being treated well by the CID. The couple is neither in prison nor in a police station; they are being held in a CID spacious facility. The Government of Somaliland is showing restraint, and the community of faith in Somaliland appreciates this.

Efforts are underway to release the couple without any charges. The CID has not received any evidence that the couple was involved in any evangelism or missionary work in Somaliland. Influential Muslim members of the couple’s family are advocating for the couple’s release.

Please continue praying for the detained couple, the Government of Somaliland, and the community of faith.

SFJ, Hargeisa, Somaliland

23 September 2020

A Somali house-church in Hargeisa, Somaliland, was raided by Somaliland’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on the evening of 21 September. The house-church, which meets in a safe house, is now closed and is under CID surveillance.

Two of the members of the house-church, a husband and wife, are still in CID detention while the rest of the house-church members fled to Ethiopia via the Wajale town border crossing. A member of the house-church who contacted SJF from his hiding place in eastern Ethiopia confirmed that the CID confiscated from the house-church Bible study materials, 2 laptops, 3 smartphones, and USD 341.

The Hargeisa Bureau of SJF said in an incident report, “Somaliland authorities are often tolerant and professional in the way they deal with local Christians whether they are from Somaliland or from southern Somalia. This house-church raid is troubling but we are in contact with the CID to learn more.”

A police officer who is seconded to the CID spoke to SJF on condition of anonymity; the officer blamed “Ethiopian Christian missionaries who organized unauthorized large gatherings, proselytization, and fomenting religious animosity in Hargeisa.” The officer added that “Somaliland is not against Christianity, but the security sector will not tolerate open Christian evangelism in Somaliland as this is contrary to the constitution of Somaliland and the sensitivity of the Muslim majority in Somaliland.”

Somaliland has often been a reliable refuge for the persecuted Somali Christians, especially those from southern Somalia. While the house-church raid is unfortunate, local Christian leaders are confident that their religious rights will remain respected in Somaliland.

A Somali missionary in Ethiopia encouraged foreign missionaries to be prudent when ministering in Somaliland and in other Somali enclaves in the Somali peninsula. The leader added, “overzealous foreign missionaries often cause more harm than good in the Somali ministry.” Ethiopian missionaries have been blamed for unwise and insensitive ministry activities in Somaliland since 1997.

Please pray for the community of faith in Somaliland, the Somaliland Government, and the foreign missionaries ministering among Somalis in the Horn of Africa.

This is a developing story, and it would be updated as SJF learns more.