Dag Heward-Mills clarifies controversial 'ruthless criminal' lawyer sermon amid backlash
The Founder and Presiding Bishop of the United Denomination Originating from the Lighthouse Group of Churches, Dag Heward-Mills, has addressed the recent uproar generated by a sermon he delivered last week, which faced criticism on social media platforms.
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In the sermon, Bishop Heward-Mills discussed the differences between professional and unprofessional practices in fields such as law, medicine, and pastoral ministry.
He employed illustrations to elaborate on his points. However, some social media users have interpreted these illustrations as being directed at a specific lawyer and case.
Bishop Heward-Mills has now issued a statement to provide clarity on his intentions and to express his regret for any offense caused. He clarified that his primary goal was to teach the word of God and not to malign any particular profession or person.
In his statement dated August 8, 2023, Heward-Mills asserted, "My intention as a preacher was not to smear any particular professional or individual but to teach the word of God. To the extent that any relationship has been drawn to any case pending in or out of court or to any individual or individuals, I consider it unfortunate and unintended, and I hereby disassociate myself from it, retract it and render my sincere apologies to anyone who may be affected by it."
The controversial sermon had led to speculation that it might be referring to an ongoing legal case, adding to the controversy surrounding the issue.
Heward-Mills took the opportunity to address these concerns, stating that his sermon's references were more general in nature, unrelated to any specific ongoing litigation.
The United Denominations' founder also emphasized his commitment to delivering messages of faith and moral guidance and expressed his deep regret for any misunderstanding that may have arisen from his recent sermon.
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Read the entire statement below;
What Bishop Dag Heward-Mills said in the sermon
According to the preacher, when the practice of law and delivery of justice falls in the hands of criminally-minded people it creates chaos for the society.
“The law is powerful but it is in whose hands it falls. If the practice of law falls into the hands of fraudsters and criminals, then the practice of law which is a noble profession changes,” Bishop Heward-Mills lamented.
He referred to a case in which some young people approached a lawyer with a terrible case without any reasonable evidence, but for the love of money, instead of advising the would-be clients to do the right thing, the lawyer accepted to handle the cases in a bid to extort money from vulnerable people.
“If you are a lawyer and you are a ruthless criminal, people will come to you with cases that nobody would even touch.
“Like maybe you can have some young men will come to you and say we’ve been cheated at our workplace. We worked for so long and we were treated badly. They didn’t pay our SSNIT, they didn’t pay our pension. They didn’t look after us. When we went abroad, we worked so hard and when we came back, we were maltreated. Look at my age, I’m 45 years old, I have nothing.
“And you have ruthless lawyers who have no scruples; they will do anything for money. A lawyer who has morals will ask you; when you worked you were not paid, can you bring the evidence or some documents? You don’t have any documents, just a pack of lies and you say these people this is how they are. They don’t want media they don’t want this thing; we’ll sue them and they will come and sit down and settle. They are called ambulance lawyers,” the bishop said amid loud cheers in a video that has been making the rounds online.