Mamponghene warns Parliament not to emulate the US on LGBTQ+ rights

He warned parliament that should Ghana follow the United States in legitimizing LGBTQ+ activities, traditional leaders would strongly disapprove of such a move.

Speaking at the Christop Heyns African Human Rights Moot Court Competition held at KNUST in Kumasi, Daasebre Osei Bonsu II said LGBTQ+ practices contradict Ghanaian culture, values, and norms, adding that LGBTQ+ should not be embraced in the country.

He said "We should sit here, cut our culture just because we have acquired degrees in European universities just like what we have established here? I should throw away the culture we've inherited from time immemorial before the white man came here before the Portuguese pretended they were putting up castles at Elmina and whatnot? To throw them (Ghana’s culture) away because of dollars over there? Permit a man to kiss a man and a woman to kiss a woman, Please I don’t need to talk about it over here.

"In Ghana, we have ours in parliament and woe betide those parliamentarians if they emulate what is happening in America. They will come and meet us at our respective kingdoms," he added.

In June this year, Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin kicked against the threat of LGBTQ+ activities in the country.

He warned diplomats and other organisations threatening some MPs behind a private members' bill that has been submitted to the legislature to amend and tighten the grey areas in the current law on the phenomenon, as well as prescribe sanctions to be meted out to violators of the law.

Ghana does not have specific legislation that protects the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals.

LGBTQI members Pulse Ghana

The bill stipulates that "unnatural carnal knowledge" is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years.

Ghanaian society tends to be conservative, and there is widespread social stigma and discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals.

Advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights has faced opposition from various religious, cultural, and political groups.

This bill, often referred to as the "LGBTQ+ bill," seeks to further criminalize LGBTQ+ rights and activism.

It aims to outlaw the advocacy and support for LGBTQ+ rights, criminalize same-sex marriage, and impose penalties on LGBTQ+ individuals and their allies.

However, the bill was still in the proposal stage, and it's important to note that legislation can change over time.

Many religious organizations and like-minded institutions and individuals have expressed their full support for the bill to be passed into law while some civil society organisations (CSOs) and other campaigners have opposed it with the explanation that it would infringe on the human rights of LGBTQ+ people in the country, and subject them to persecution and violence.