3 declared wanted by community for alleged same-sex relationship

Three people have been declared wanted by members of a community at Dambai in the newly created Oti Region, for engaging in same sex relationship.

Ibrahim Nuhu Rahaman, his wife Fatima, and John Clark, Mr Rahaman’s gay partner were said to have been declared ‘wanted dead or alive’ in June 2019 for their alleged misconduct, largely considered an abomination in Ghana.  

The Ghanaian Times gathered that Mr Rahaman, a married man and a gay is currently on the run for fear of being killed by angry  youths in the area who have vowed to end his life for bringing a curse unto the community.

Same-sex relationships such as gayism and lesbianism are detested by Ghanaians, and sometimes, those who engage in it, suffer serious consequences, including physical harm and threats of death.  
 
In the case of Mr Rahaman, it was alleged that he allowed his gay partner to have sex with his (Rahaman’s) wife.

When the Ghanaian Times visited the community to ascertain the veracity or otherwise of the story, Habibullah Sanda Maiga, an Islamic scholar and youth activist confirmed the story and said the three would be punished.

He told the Ghanaian Times that leaders of the community had placed a GH¢3,000 bounty on the head of the suspects.

Another gay person, who pleaded anonymity confirmed the story and said people who practise same-sex received death threats when the community found out about their activities.

He  alleged that the  law enforcement agencies, including the Ghana Police Service looked on when cases of abuse were reported, adding that the development encouraged the culprits to continue to infringe on the rights of gays and others.  

Their right to freedom of choice, he noted, were curtailed as they could not make public pronouncements about their sex life.

When asked if he knew the whereabouts of the three, he intimated that he was told that both Mr Rahaman and his wife were nowhere to be found. 

He said Rahaman and his gay partner escaped by the skin of the teeth on June 15, 2019 when the youth went after them, adding that their whereabouts were still unknown.  

The source said that the youth leader and others had been dispatched to Accra to look for Mr Rahaman and his alleged accomplices.  
 
Two years ago, a man who was suspected to be a gay was beaten mercilessly by a group of young men in Newtown, Accra.

FROM MALIK SULLEMANA, DAMBAI