How can you hail the unlawful shutdown of LGBT Office at Ashongman? - Hardi Yakubu asks

Fighter-General of the Economic Fighters League (EFL), Hardi Yakubu, has slammed the security agencies that raided and shut down the office of the LGBTQ+ Rights Ghana Office.

Although he admitted not be someone who promotes homosexual practices, he said the way and manner the facility was shut down was not lawful.

He also described as sickening the suggestions on social media for persons who identify as LGBTQ+ to be killed.

"I mean look, personally, I don’t promote homosexual practices, but is this the best way to respond to a major socio-cultural issue like this? Some are threatening to burn down their edifices, some of them have been threatened with violence. The comments I am seeing on social media by some people advocating for gays and lesbians to be killed are sickening.”

"This is not a reasonable response. You raid and close down the office and then what? Does that suddenly remove the gayness from the people’s identity or lives? You insult, harass, humiliate, beat, lynch people identifying as gay or lesbian or other orientations, will that suddenly remove that identity from the land? What do you gain from that violence?”

The police Wednesday morning raided and closed the office of a Lesbians, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex (LGBTQI) group in Accra.

The group after the incident expressed their displeasure saying: ”This morning, our office was raided by National Security. A few days ago, traditional leaders threatened to burn down our office but the police did not help. At this moment, we no longer have access to our safe space and our safety is being threatened.

We call on all human rights organizations, and allies to speak out against this attack.

It further added "On 31st of January 2021, LGBTQ+ Rights Ghana hosted a fundraiser to officially introduce and promote its community space as well as open its doors to members of the Ghanaian LGBT+ community and allies. This fundraising activity has unfortunately sparked negative reporting riddled with false narrations in the Ghanaian media and the public."

On the 11th of February 2021, Executive Secretary of the National Coalition for Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values, Moses Foh-Amoaning called on the government and the Ghana Police Service to shut down the newly outdoored office. He has since taken to several media platforms to call for the arrest and prosecution of those involved in the creation of the space, claiming that its establishment is unconstitutional. He has also called for gay conversion therapy to be introduced.

Since this time, there have been a number of other NGO leaders, religious leaders and government officials as well as media outlets who have joined in the national conversation on denying LGBT+ Rights Ghana the ability to operate an office and some threatening bodily harm and death to the community leaders and members.”

Reacting to this, Hardi Yakubu said: ”People are committing mass murder by stealing billions of cedis meant to equip hospitals to treat patients. Yet you’re not concerned about that immorality. Is murder not a sin? Children are being sold for GHC 400 because of poverty, you’re not concerned about that. In fact, you’re waiting for your turn to benefit from the corruption…”

Read his full statement below.

Why the violence against LGBTQ+ people?

So Ghana Police can just raid somebody’s office and shut it down without recourse to the law and without a warrant? And people are hailing this practice because it is not them?

I mean look, personally, I don’t promote homosexual practices, but is this the best way to respond to a major socio-cultural issue like this? Some are threatening to burn down their edifices, some of them have been threatened with violence. The comments I am seeing on social media by some people advocating for gays and lesbians to be killed are sickening.

This is not a reasonable response. You raid and close down the office and then what? Does that suddenly remove the gayness from the people’s identity or lives? You insult, harass, humiliate, beat, lynch people identifying as gay or lesbian or other orientations, will that suddenly remove that identity from the land? What do you gain from that violence?

People are committing mass murder by stealing billions of cedis meant to equip hospitals to treat patients. Yet you’re not concerned about that immorality. Is murder not a sin? Children are being sold for GHC 400 because of poverty, you’re not concerned about that. In fact, you’re waiting for your turn to benefit from the corruption. Is it that you’re choosing and picking some immoral activity to accept and some to reject? Then where is your principle? What are you if your stance is merely based on convenience?