Sam Nartey George
Members of Parliament (MPs) have agreed on a minimum of three years and a maximum of five years in prison for activists of LGBTQ+ to be included in the anti-gay bill before the House.
They also want anyone caught engaged in LGBTQ+ activities to face a minimum term of six months and a maximum of three years.
During a clause-by-clause review of the bill to promote proper human sexual rights and Ghanaian family values, the MPs agreed that Clause 14 which says “People who find themselves in the activity must be punished with a minimum custodial sentence of six months and a maximum of three years” should stand part of the bill.
The clause again says, “… whilst people or organisations that provide funds, promote or sponsor such activities be punished with a minimum of three years and maximum five years.”
Even though the Chairman of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, Kwame Anyimadu Antwi, and the Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, had called for fines and community services, the House went along with the proponents of imprisonment.
MP for Ningo Prampram, Sam Nartey George, explained that the imprisonment is because of the public’s concern with the advocacy and promotion of such activities.
He advocated that individuals caught engaging in such activities should face harsher punishment ranging from a minimum of six months to a maximum of three years, which was agreed upon by the House.
“For individuals caught engaging in these activities themselves, the punishment ranges from a minimum of six months to a maximum of three years.
“For those actively promoting, sponsoring, or supporting such an agenda, the penalty increases to a minimum of three years and a maximum of five years,” he stressed.
However, Mr. Afenyo-Markin argued that the law be enacted to transform such individuals who may fall foul rather than to imprison them.
However, some MPs, including Alhaji Mohammed Muntaka-Mubarak and Mahama Ayariga, stated that punitive measures proposed in the bill, in addition to fines and community service, must be kept to provide courts the choice to use them during adjudication of such cases.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House