The Catholic Bishop of Konongo-Mampong, Most Reverend Joseph Osei-Bonsu, has called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to be emphatic on his stance on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ+).
President Akufo-Addo in a press conference last month with the Vice President of the United States, Ms Kamala Harris, declined to state his position on the LGBTQ+ and rather said he was waiting for the decision of parliament on the matter.
While clarifying that there was currently no legislation in Ghana that criminalises LGBTQ, President Akufo-Addo acknowledged that the bill had been proposed and was being reviewed by parliament.
He noted, that the Attorney General had made some inputs in the bill adding that, “But at the end of the process, I will come in.”
The President expressed confidence that parliament would take into account both human rights concerns and the sentiments of the Ghanaian people when reaching a decision on the bill.
However, in an open letter addressed to President Akufo-Addo, the clergy man said the President, like his predecessors should make a “No” statement on the subject to send a clear signal to Ghanaians and other world leaders, his position.
“I would also be most grateful if you could state unequivocally what your position on LGBTQ+ is. I request this because many Ghanaians are not sure of your position on this matter, while they are clear about the position of some of your predecessors who have made their positions clear and unambiguous.
“Your excellency, in my view, you did not answer the question posed by the journalist. You should have admitted that homosexuality indeed remains a criminal offence in Ghana, making reference to Section 104 of the Ghanaian Criminal Code of 1960 which criminalises consensual same-sex sexual acts between persons of the same gender,” Most Reverend Osei-Bonsu stated.
He said President Akufo-Addo should have used the occasion to instruct the journalist about why homosexuality was not accepted in Ghana for religious, cultural and health reasons.
Most Rev Osei-Bonsu described the President’s comment about the bill that it was championed by “only a handful of MPs” as unfortunate saying that the “only handful of MPs spoke for over 80 per cent of Ghanaians who abhor homosexuality.”
He said a survey conducted by the Africa Centre for International Law and Accounting (ACILA) revealed that over 80 per cent of Ghanaians were against the normalisation of homosexuality in the country.
The President, he said, missed an opportunity to correct Ms Harris on her understanding of human rights and what the majority of Ghanaians think and feel about the phenomenon of LGBTQ+.
He said in the case of the late former President Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, he had not come across any definite public reference to what he said on the subject.
With regard to President John AgyekumKufuor, in his meeting in 2019 with members of the National Coalition for Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values, the former President urged the world to fight against same-sex marriages.
He stated that no amount of argument could change the fact that without man and woman, there would be no human race, adding that earlier, during his presidency, President John Agyekum Kufuor had opposed a gay conference that was supposed to be held in Ghana.
For President Prof. John Evans Atta Mills, he said he was popular for being forthright and ruling out any possibility of the legalisation of LGBTQ+ in an interaction with the media during his presidency, and in reaction to comments by then British Premier David Cameron that they may consider cutting aid to Ghana should the country not legalise gay rights.
He said President John Dramani Mahama had similar comments as his predecessor.
Speaking through his Information Minister at the time, Mahama Ayariga, the former president indicated that the act was criminal and punishable under the laws of Ghana.
BY ANITA NYARKO-YIRENKYI
