Humanist Association of Ghana slams parliament’s latest move against LGBTQ+

The Humanist Association of Ghana has criticized the latest move by parliament to pass a law that will nib the activities of LGBTQ+ in the bud.

The speaker of parliament, Alban Bagbin, has announced that “stakeholder consultations are ongoing and the results will feed into a Bill that will eventually be passed into law by Parliament.”

This was contained in a response to a political activist, Emmanuel Abankwa Kesse, who had petitioned the speaker, appealing that the house amends the country’s Human Rights Laws in dealing with LGBTI+ and their activities in Ghana.

According to the speaker, the phenomenon should be discouraged due to its eventual negative impact on society.

But the president of the Humanist Association of Ghana, Kwabena Antwi Boasiako, reacting to the speaker’s comment in an interview with Starr News stated that he keeps getting disappointed with the kind of leadership Ghana keeps having.

“We have a country of 30 million people with a lot of problems on our hands and we are trying to solve them. For the Speaker of Parliament to think of this as a worthy problem to solve or a worthy cause to take especially against your own citizens, I don’t understand. I do not know where this is coming from. This level of homophobia is just unbelievable coming from somebody who has sworn to serve all the people in Ghana.

“With respect to our current laws, what the Speaker is proposing or alluding to is stamping down on freedom of expression, freedom of belief of even advocating and they gave us a statement with what they did to the 21 LGBTQ in Ho,” Kwabena Antwi Boasiako added.

Meanwhile, a Ho High Court 2, presided over by Yaw Owoahene-Acheampong has granted bail to some 21 persons suspected to be members of Lesbians, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender society.

The suspects including 16 females and 5 males were first arraigned before the Ho Circuit Court on Friday, May 21, but were remanded into police custody by the court.

The suspects who were said to have been at a conference in the Ho Municipality where the arrest was made, were charged with unlawful assembly.

Following their appearance in court, lawyers for the accused proceeded to the High court to file a bail application after an earlier attempt was declined by the lower court.

The High Court, however, withheld the application at a bail sum of GH¢5,000 for each applicant and one surety each.