Mubarak Futa
A young man believed to be a homosexual nearly lost his life after a rendezvous with a male prostitute at Turaku, a suburb of Ashaiman near Tema in the Greater Accra Region.
It was gathered that Mubarak Futa had sought the services of a male prostitute who spent the night with him for a fee, in what has now become known as “hook up”.
Witnesses say a misunderstanding ensued between the prostitute and his client after the two had spent a “steamy” night together, following Mubarak’s inability to pay the agreed fee.
Argument between the two degenerated into fisticuffs, which attracted a crowd to the scene on a Friday afternoon as residents were heading for various mosques for prayer.
The melee of people thronging the mosques then descended on Mubarak and “his prostitute” and subjected the duo to severe beatings.
The name of the male prostitute was unknown at the time of filing this story, but it was gathered that the two gay men were beaten with all sorts of implements, and both sustained stab wounds that left them bleeding profusely. However, the Friday Azan (call to prayer) saved the two, as they would have been lynched.
Witnesses told this reporter that the notoriety of Mubarak Futa’s gay activities had been noted by residents, who had hitherto been looking for an opportunity to get rid of him.
“That guy (Mubarak) came from Nima (a suburb of Accra), and I am aware that the Nima people wanted to kill him because of his gay activities,” Baba Iddrisu, a popular land guard, who led the assault, told this reporter.
When he was asked what had become of Mubarak and the male prostitute, Baba said, “I don’t know. We left them here to go pray and come and finish them. But when we got back, they were nowhere to be found.
“You can go and tell the government, I don’t care. When I get the Mubarak guy, I will finish him. I have asked my boys to search everywhere for him. Even you, if I hear that he is your friend, I will deal with you,” Baba threated.
Even though the Criminal (and Other) Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) outlaws gay practices, the ascendancy of homophobic attacks in the country has become a major source of concern to many, especially when the law enforcement agencies look the other way.