Ghana's Supreme Court paves way for repressive anti-LGBTQ law

RFI

18 December 2024 at 5:28 pm·1-min read

Ghana's proposed anti-LGBTQ legislation is considered among the most stringent in Africa.

Ghana's Supreme Court has paved the way for a contested bill severely curtailing LGBTQ rights to become law after rejecting two bids to overturn it.

Lawmakers approved the Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill in February, drawing international condemnation despite gaining wide public support in the conservative West African country.

The proposed anti-LGBTQ legislation is considered among the most stringent in Africa, stipulating jail terms of up to three years for engaging in same-sex relations and up to five years for promoting or sponsoring LGBTQ+ activities.

The bill will only become law after being ratified by the outgoing president Nana Akufo-Addo or his successor John Mahama.

Akufo-Addo, who officially steps down on January 7 after two terms in office, has not yet announced his decision.

He had said he would first await the Supreme Court's ruling on the bill's constitutionality.

Opposition leader, Mahama, who won the December 7 elections, voiced support for the anti-LGBTQ bill during the electoral campaign.

Gay sex is already illegal in the religious, mostly Christian nation, but while discrimination against LGBTQ+ people is common, no one has ever been prosecuted under the colonial-era law.

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