President Akufo Addo
President Akufo Addo has said his government has no plans of introducing legislation on same-sex marriage.
Speaking at the 2018 Synod of the Global Evangelical Church in Accra, the president said he has no power to introduce such legislation.
“I do not hesitate to state openly that I am a Christian in politics and will continue to be so and a politician who is deeply influenced by Christian values. I know that the church can be very influential in making a dramatic difference in education, health, and sanitation. Let me assure that this government has no plans to change the law on same-sex marriage, we have no authority, and we will not seek any authority to do so, it is well within our reach,” he said
Despite Ghana’s standing as a beacon of democracy on the African continent, the country’s decision not to support advocacy for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights, has been questioned by some sections of the international community and even met by indirect threats.
Although there have not been calls from the Ghanaian gay community for the legalization of gay marriage, anti-gay activists continuously call on the government to resist moves by advocates campaigning for gay rights.
The Church and other religious groups have been one of the vociferous anti-gay campaigners in Ghana, thus pushing politicians to reiterate their commitment to maintaining homosexuality as a crime.
Homosexuality as a crime
Under Ghanaian criminal law, same-sex sexual activity is illegal, owing to the criminal code’s stance on unnatural carnal knowledge.
Persons found to have fallen foul of this law are liable to a prison term ranging from five years to 25 years, per Section 104 of the Criminal Code (Amendment) Act, 2003.
Ghana is one of 75 countries around the world where it is still illegal to be a homosexual.
There have been pockets of instances where perceived LGBTQ persons have been attacked by those against the practice either by religion or culture.
As a result, some human rights groups in Ghana, have often advocated for the respect of the rights of such individuals to practice their sexual preference without any attacks.
The criminalization of homosexuality, found in most sub-Saharan African countries, has seen some pressure from the international community prompting accusations of bullying.
-Citifmonline