Supreme Court upholds law criminalizing unnatural sexual intercourse

The Supreme Court of Ghana has upheld the constitutionality of a law that criminalizes unnatural sexual intercourse, including anal sex between consenting adults, whether heterosexual or homosexual.

In a unanimous decision on July 24, 2024, a seven-member panel dismissed a challenge to Section 104 (1) (b) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).

This section of

Read full articlethe law deems any person aged 16 and above who engages in unnatural carnal knowledge, even with consent, to have committed a misdemeanor punishable by up to three years in prison.

Dr. Prince Obiri-Korang, a law lecturer at the University of Ghana, initiated the suit, arguing that the law violated constitutional rights to liberty, privacy, and non-discrimination based on sexual orientation.

However, the Supreme Court, led by Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, found the challenge without merit and dismissed it. The full reasoning for the decision will be available at the Court’s Registry within 10 days.