General News of Sunday, 6 October 2024

How Pastor Love's 'arrogance' infuriated judge who sentenced him to 48 months imprisonment for stealing

Details emerging in the aftermath of the trial and conviction of Pastor Love Hamond for stealing indicate that the former husband of gospel musician Christiana Love incurred the rage of the presiding judge during his sentencing.

According to reports, Pastor Love, upon being found guilty by the court, raised objections, accusing the presiding judge of not being familiar with the details of the case as he had taken over from an earlier judge during the course of the trial.

The case, which spanned from 2017, concluded with Pastor Love being found guilty of theft, appropriation, and dishonesty in the sale of a Toyota Highlander belonging to the complainant, Samuel Amankwa.

The trial, which was a topic of discussion on the Saturday, October 5, 2024, edition of UTV’s United Showbiz, saw guests on the show roundly condemning Pastor Love.

According to talent manager Lawrence Nana Asiamah Hanson, alias Bullgod, Pastor Love failed to apply wisdom in his conduct.

“The judge could have been lenient, but he showed some arrogance. You see, there is a reason why we call the judge 'my lord.' The court is like heaven... A judge is a god on earth when you appear before him... He could be in a bad mood that day, so you need to be circumspect. You’re asked what you have to say after being convicted, and you talk about the previous judge not indicating the same. Does the court or the law belong to the previous judge? Sometimes lack of wisdom is dangerous. You need to recognize the place you are,” Bullgod said.

Pastor Love failed to use wisdom in court, leading to his imprisonment - BullGod #UnitedShowbiz pic.twitter.com/KskZankRCO
— UTV Ghana (@utvghana) October 5, 2024

Political commentator Nana Kwame Ziega, on his part, chastised Pastor Love for bringing priesthood and the Christian faith into disrepute.

“While the likes of Archbishop Duncan Williams are using well-fed sermons to woo people into Christianity, the likes of Pastor Mensah Otabil and Archbishop Agyinasare are using church marketing and miracles to woo people to come to Christianity, you get the likes of Pastor Love playing minus. They are the kind of people reversing the progress of Christianity,” he stated.

People like Pastor Love are the ones reversing the progress of Christianity - Nana Frimpong Ziega#UnitedShowbiz pic.twitter.com/HrxedpB1jb
— UTV Ghana (@utvghana) October 6, 2024

Vida Adutwumwaa also condemned the public conduct of Pastor Love, describing him as having a penchant for verbal abuse and being known for having a sharp tongue.

“I started hearing about Pastor Love in the late 2000s, and I can say it on record that I’ve never seen a person with a sharper tongue than his. When you look at his life, you realize that he is quick to resort to insults in all situations. I say so because in the late 2000s, when you listen to him go at other people or his ex-wife, you are compelled to question how someone can denigrate a person he has been with before, and it has been like that till now,” she stated.

I have never seen anyone with a sharper tongue than Pastor Love - Vida Adutwumwaa #UnitedShowbiz pic.twitter.com/BpiN4dQ8yv
— UTV Ghana (@utvghana) October 5, 2024

Facts of the case:

According to the prosecution, the complainant, Samuel Amankwah, shipped a Toyota Highlander into the country in 2016 and asked Pastor Love to clear it.

After clearing the car, Amankwah asked Pastor Love to sell it for fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) and deduct the money for clearing the car from it. He later rescinded this decision because he was scheduled to be in Ghana in April 2017, so he could pay Pastor Love the money for clearing the car.

However, when he arrived in Ghana, Pastor Love could not produce the car despite several demands.

How wicked can you be? - MC Yaa Yeboah expresses excitement about Pastor Love's 48-month jail sentence, and here’s why #UnitedShowbiz pic.twitter.com/iQSh3gPKVI
— UTV Ghana (@utvghana) October 5, 2024

When Pastor Love was arrested for failing to produce the car, he explained that he had secured a loan of forty thousand cedis (GHC 40,000.00) with 20% interest to clear the car. He said the loan was accruing more interest, so he sold the car without Amankwah's consent for eighty thousand cedis (GHC 80,000) and gave seventy thousand cedis (GHC 70,000.00) to the loan company.

He, however, could not lead the police to the said loan company and was unable to show the police the person who bought the car.

When the case was called before His Honour Isaac Addo, Pastor Love pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy since he is a first-time offender and was ready to pay any fine, but his plea was rejected.

The judge, while considering a fair deterrent sentence, indicated that Pastor Love, as a pastor, occupies an office that requires a high level of integrity in matters of trust. The judge also said there is no doubt that the complainant owns the car, but Pastor Love sold it without his consent.