Kofi Akpaloo advocates for LGBTQI+ rights in Ghana

Kofi Akpaloo, the Founder and Leader of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) has waded into the ongoing LGBT rights conversation in the country by saying that people must be human to understand them.

“Homosexuality has long existed in our secondary schools – the likes of Opoku Ware, Prempeh College and some girls and mixed schools have indulged in it. Homosexuality could be spiritual so its members must be loved and prayed for rather than being ostracized,” he said in an interview on Happy FM’s Epa Hoa Daben with Don Kwabena Prah.

According to him, the LPG will not be in the position to infringe on the fundamental right of the minority group in the community. “We advocate for the fundamental human right of every person. Had I been the President, I wouldn’t infringe on the rights of any person.”

He added that all of us can be the same, “Some were born as women but they have the hormones of a man so it’s not their wish to be born like that hence the LGBTQI+ group must be allowed to move freely. Their right to movement must not be infringed upon.”

A renowned lawyer Gabby Otchere-Darko also said in a Facebook post that the law of Ghana only identifies unnatural carnal knowledge as a crime therefore homosexuality is not a crime in Ghana. “You don’t have to be pro-gay to appreciate their situation. You only have to be human. Let us be careful and not generate an intense hate campaign against homosexuals. You can speak about the law and ‘culture’ minus hate.”

Meanwhile, Bawku Central lawmaker Mahama Ayariga says homosexuals must recognize they have no rights in Ghana.

According to him, people who own up to being homosexuals in the country must be identified and face prosecution.

“They don’t have the right to practice homosexuality so they can’t say their rights have been violated. You don’t have the right to be gay or lesbian in Ghana. But I’m saying any person can advocate that we should confer that right on them.

Conversation and anger towards LGBT practices have been renewed in Ghana following a fundraiser which was attended by several diplomats including the Australian High Commissioner who pledged to support the group.

The EU office in Ghana has also declared support for the group.

But the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has stated that the legalisation of same-sex marriage will never happen in his time as President.

According to the President, “I have said this before, and let me, in conclusion, stress again that it will not be under the presidency of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that same-sex marriage will be legalised in Ghana. It will never happen in my time as President.”

President Akufo-Addo made this known on Saturday, 27th February 2021, when he attended the Installation and Enthronement ceremony of Rt. Rev Dr Cyril Kobina Ben-Smith, as the 2nd Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Ghana, at Asante-Mampong, in the Ashanti Region.