Earlier this year on May 29th, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni signed one of the world’s harshest anti-LGBTQ laws, including the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,” prompting Western outcry and risking sanctions from aid donors. And, as most LGBTQ activists predicted, the Ugandan President’s action has had a rippling effect on neighbouring African countries, with Ghana’s parliament just a few days ago unanimously passing an extreme anti-gay bill.

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This news comes after Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo stated that “substantial elements” of a draconian anti-LGBTQ bill being considered by its parliament “have been modified” after an intervention by his government. He made the announcement during a press conference with US Vice President Kamala Harris, who was on a tour to the country at the time. Akufo-Addo noted that the proposed legislation, packaged under the garb of “family values” and seeking to enact some of the worst anti-LGBTQ laws on the African continent, was a private members’ bill, not legislation introduced by his government. He added that “The bill is going through the parliament and the attorney general has found it necessary to speak to the committee about it regarding the constitutionality … of several of its provisions. The parliament is dealing with it. At the end of the process, I will come in,”

However, one of the bill’s sponsors, Samuel Nartey George, maintains that the proposed legislation remains “rigid and tough.” He stated that “When the bill is laid before the House (of parliament), you will realise that the focus of the bill, which has to do with voiding (gay) marriages, preventing them from adopting or fostering children, the clampdown on platforms and media houses that are going to do promotion and advocacy or push those materials, will still be enforced. “So when he (Akufo-Addo) says the bill has been watered down, he doesn’t know what he is talking about,” he added.

Just a few months later, 275 members of Parliament unanimously passed the bill, known as the 2021 Promotion of Appropriate Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill. Although same-sex behaviour is already banned in Ghana, the law intends to criminalise the promotion, advocacy, funding, and actions of homosexuality. It increases prison sentences for LGBTQ+ campaigners to ten years and for anyone identifying as such to three years. Moreover, the bill seeks to withdraw health services from the community, including HIV medication.

According to the bill’s principal sponsor, senator Sam Nartey George, “[H]omosexuality is not a human right in Ghana, but a lifestyle choice.” A sexual preference.” With this rationale, legislators considered preferences as not absolute, and they did not hesitate to pass legislation opposing them. Furthermore, George cautioned the US not to interfere with preparations to bring the bill into law, warning that if Washington imposes penalties on its legislators, “we will also take action against your business interests in our country.” He said this in reference to the travel restrictions imposed upon Uganda following the signing of their own anti-LGBTQ+ law.

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has also warned that LGBTQ+ practises are highly condemned and will not be tolerated in the country. He stated that “I am very clear in my mind that the Parliament of Ghana will pass this Bill (to criminalize LGBTQ). I have gone through it and I will confirm that the Bill will be a reference point for many countries. It has gone through all the provisions of the constitution, laws and international obligations.

The “Promotion of Appropriate Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill” was introduced in 2021 and It still needs to pass a third reading in the House and be signed into law by Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo before it becomes legislation. Since its passage, however, the bill has been met with outrage both at home and abroad and multiple lawsuits have also been filed to challenge the bill in the country’s courts.

Rightify Ghana, a human rights organization in Ghana and a critic of the bill, believes that the passing of the bill undermines efforts in fighting HIV and AIDS. Furthermore, they cited a 2021 UNAIDS statement that considered this bill as violating the LGBTQ+ community’s basic rights. The statement warned of the possibility of international law violations if the bill passed, saying, “Given that LGBTI people are present in every family and every community, it is not difficult to imagine how, if it were to be adopted, this legislation could create a recipe for conflict and violence.”

While critics are saying the bill infringes on the rights guaranteed in Ghana’s constitution, supporters of the bill are saying that the bill will help to preserve Ghanaian values. What do you think?

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