Dr. Lawrence Tetteh, Founder and President of the Worldwide Miracle Outreach, has criticized his fellow clergy members for remaining silent on the anti-LGBTQ bill that Parliament passed in February, adding to calls by Dr. Ap. Kadmiel E.H. Agbalenyoh to compel the President to assent to the bill.
Although the bill is currently under Supreme Court review following legal challenges from two private individuals, Dr. Tetteh contends that President Akufo-Addo should not delay in signing it into law.
Despite the ongoing legal proceedings against the bill, Dr. Tetteh believes the president should take a decisive stand on the matter. He argues that the president’s hesitance is unwarranted and vows to march to the Jubilee House, the seat of government, if the Supreme Court upholds the bill’s passage.
Dr. Tetteh joins a growing number of religious leaders and groups urging President Akufo-Addo to sign the bill into law. His call to action reflects the urgency he feels regarding the matter, particularly given the bill’s support among religious communities.
In a letter to the Clerk to Parliament on March 18, 2024, the presidency indicated that President Akufo-Addo would not sign the bill, citing the ongoing court cases against it. This decision has fueled criticism from religious leaders, who see the delay as a lack of political will.
Dr. Tetteh is adamant about taking action to ensure the president hears the voices of the people who elected him. He expressed frustration over the apparent passivity of Christian and religious leaders, calling their inaction a “shame” and expressing his disappointment.
As pressure mounts on the president to sign the bill, the debate around the anti-LGBTQ+ bill continues to draw strong opinions from various segments of Ghanaian society. Dr. Tetteh’s planned protest is a clear signal of the broader call for the president to address the issue promptly.
Dr. Lawrence Tetteh Remarks on the anti LGBTQ bill
I’ll march to the Jubilee House. I think it’s about time we make politicians know we voted them into power. The cowardice that Christian leaders and religious leaders have been reduced to is a shame and I’m embarrassed by some of our clergymen.
As much as we are interested in our titles, in the big titles, and who we are and how long we’ve served, I’m yet to hear certain people speak against these manners. And for me, that is a shame. And so it starts from my home too.
It starts from the clergymen. It starts from the religious clerics. It starts from the home of the Chief Iman. It starts from the Chairman of Christian Council. It starts from the Apostolic leaders. It starts from Apostolic fathers. It also starts from the Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Anglicans. But also beyond that, it starts from the charismatic leaders.
We’ve been too quiet. And as much as we are grumbling, everybody wants to impress certain people and that nonsense, for me, must stop, he remarked.
