Ghana’s Parliament has moved a step closer to holding a vote on a punitive bill that seeks to further clamp down on the rights of LGBTQ people in the West African country.
The bill rejects a proposal which would have seen jail terms for gay-sex replaced with non-custodial sentences such as counselling.
The bill which has been sponsored by a coalition of Christian, Muslim, and Ghanaian traditional leaders and supported by most lawmakers in the country’s Parliament, if passed, will punish the promotion of rights of LGBTQ people with up to 10 years imprisonment.
Gay sex is already punishable in the West African country by up to three years in prison and that would rise to five years under the bill which is in its final stages.
If passed, it will be among the harshest anti-gay laws in the continent, in a country where the LGBTQ community are already facing abuse and hostility, according to activists.
If approved, it would require presidential assent to come into force. President Nana Akufo-Addo has however not confirmed if he would sign the bill into law. Promoters are seeking to have the bill passed by March 2024.
