Get you up to speed: Gay people in Ghana will be jailed under new anti-LGBT law | News World
Ghana has passed a bill imposing up to 10 years’ imprisonment for promoting LGBTQ activities and reinstating a three-year sentence for same-sex relationships. The bill, which will be signed into law by President John Dramani Mahama, targets individuals identifying as LGBTQ and comes following a campaign from church groups and activists.
The bill, which has broad support from church groups and activists, is set to be signed into law by President John Dramani Mahama following its passage. Critics, including Human Rights Watch, warn it poses severe risks to the safety and freedoms of LGBTQ+ individuals in Ghana.
President John Dramani Mahama’s government has confirmed plans to sign the recently passed restrictive bill targeting individuals associated with LGBTQ activities. Human Rights Watch has warned that the legislation endangers lives and may promote public surveillance against perceived queer individuals.
What remains unclear — It is uncertain how the new law will be enforced and its potential impact on reporting and relationships within families of LGBTQ+ individuals.
Ghana enacts law prohibiting LGBTQ activities with penalties of up to 10 years in prison
President John Dramani Mahama is spearheading the bill (Picture: AFP)
Ghana has passed a restrictive bill that can jail any gay people for up to 10 years for promoting ‘LGBTQ activities’.
The West African nation has also renewed a three-year sentence for anyone found ‘guilty of same-sex relationships’.
The terrifying bill targets anyone who identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer and will be signed into law by President John Dramani Mahama after a campaign by church groups and activists across the country.
Campaigners for the bill say it protects ‘family values and cultural norms’.
Journalists, lawyers and medical professionals will be exempt, but the law could open up even those who it doesn’t affect to abuse.
Journalist Caleb Ahinakwah told the Telegraph: ‘These exemptions do little to address the broader concern that the bill could embolden members of the public to target, harass or attack people perceived to be queer.’
Human Rights Watch said the bill puts gay people’s lives at risk while ‘encouraging citizens to surveil and denounce one another’.
Ghana isn’t the only nation to have criminalised homosexuality recently, though it is the most recent in Africa to do so.
A bill was passed in 2023 in Uganda that would put people in jail for up to 10 years for identifying as LGBTQ.
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The bill gives authorities broad powers to target gay Ugandans who already face legal discrimination and mob violence.
The 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Bill reinstates a pre-existing punishment of life in prison for same-sex conduct, while also increasing to 10 years the sentence for an attempt at same-sex conduct.
Anyone found guilty of a ‘same-sex relationship’ can be jailed for three years (Picture: Reuters)
Violations draw severe penalties, including death for ‘aggravated homosexuality’ and life in prison for taking part in gay sex.
‘Aggravated homosexuality’ involves gay sex with people under the age of 18 or when the perpetrator is HIV positive, among other categories, according to the law.
It also creates new offences that will further curtail any activism in support of LGBTQ+ rights, which proponents of the new legislation say threaten traditional values in the conservative and religious nation.
Anyone advocating for the rights of LGBTQ+ people, or financially supporting organisations that do so, could face up to 20 years’ imprisonment.
The bill also criminalises any person who fails to report someone they suspect of participating in same-sex acts to the police, calling for a fine or imprisonment for six months.
Effectively, this targets families or friends of LGBTQ+ people failing to report their loved ones.
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