Ghana: chronicles of a catastrophe foretold
How state-sponsored homophobia became the political consensus in a country facing an economic collapse
Four weeks ago, a “suspected” gay man was stripped, marched, and beaten on Ghana’s Legon campus north of Accra by students (see this article). The mob justice incident, which was filmed, led to multiple conversations on social media in the country.
While most commenters made light of the situation, the term "trumu" (slang for “gay”) being mentioned mockingly, some Ghanaians expressed genuine surprise at the disproportionate and violent extra-judicial response. Why not let the Police handle the accusations of homosexuality?
I also wrote here about Ama Governor in October. Ama, a social media influencer who has passed the bar exam, was refused admission a second time because she had admitted to being bisexual on TV. The lawyer’s association invoked a section in the Ghanaian "Legal Profession Regulations, 2018," requiring the student to showcase “good character.” The arbitrary denial also made national headlines. Again, some asked how Governor could be barred from exercising her profession if she had not been indicted.
Both incidents and many others tracked by Human Rights Watch or Outright International can be traced back to increased state-sponsored homophobia and transphobia in Ghana for the past three years. Despite ample evidence to the contrary, politicians in Ghana have been arguing that homosexuality is alien to the African culture and a Western concept, sometimes invoking wild and simplistic conspiracy theories.
This gap in the law [that the Bill intends to fill] creates opportunities for advocates of LGBTTQQIAAP+ activities to sponsor and promote the proliferation of those sexual activities. The effect of these sponsorship (sic) and promotion is that young persons are lured to assimilate the otherwise unacceptable forms of sexual expressions (sic). […] In some instances, young persons, mostly students in colleges, are awarded a "commission" for luring other young persons to join LGBTTQQIAAP+ groups.” (extracted from Memorandum)
This cultural justification didn't simply appear out of nowhere. Of course, victorian prejudice became so engrained during colonial rule that it now manifests itself almost subconsciously in the population. Religiosity also plays a key role: Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians are now the largest religious group in Ghana. U.S. evangelical Churches and organizations, like Family Watch International, can also be traced back to the bill's origins.
Ghanaian politicians also have much to gain from encouraging this distraction, as the government is bankrupt. The disastrous economic and fiscal situation triggered by Government spending and debt mismanagement requires unpopular decisions under the ongoing IMF deal (2023‑26), such as electricity tariff adjustments and civil service reform, for whoever is in power. The same week parliamentarians voted on the bill, the electricity company cut power to the parliament. The cocoa industry has had a horrible year, and the country’s production is at its lowest in the past 14 years. Corruption remains endemic: one of the Presidential candidates is running on an anti-corruption platform despite his involvement in the Airbus bribery scandal.
However, the recent flare-up was triggered when LGBTQ+ Rights Ghana launched an LGBTQ+ community center (promptly closed) in 2021 (see here). A small fundraising event attended by the Danish ambassador, the Australian high commissioner, and EU delegates caused outrage and prompted repeated claims that the international community was promoting LGBTQ+ rights.
Evangelicals from the Coalition for Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values, supported by the American World Congress of Families, which had organized an infamous 2019 meeting in Accra, took advantage of the tempest to identify eight Members of Parliament, including the illuminated NDC MP Samuel Nartey George, to present the insane bi-partisan “Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values” bill.
In its second reading last July, all 275 parliamentarians voted for it. This week, it passed the “consideration stage.” The next stage is the Third Reading, when the law is passed and sent to the President for assent.
The upcoming 2024 presidential elections bring another degree of complexity. The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) will most likely be ousted in the December 2024 polls in favor of the National Democratic Congress, the main opposition party. After Kamala Harris and Nana Akufo-Addo met in March 2023, one could have hoped the President, who cannot run for another term, might be a voice of reason. Unfortunately, the opposition has already indicated they would override any Presidential veto on this bill. Ghana's former president and leading opposition presidential candidate (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, is under tremendous pressure to endorse the bill. Both parties are now competing on who can make the silliest comment on homosexuality. NPP National Chairman recently said:
I want to state emphatically without any fear of equivocation that the New Patriotic Party that I chair will never support LGBTQ. The good Lord God wants us to populate this earth that he has put at our disposal. How do we achieve that commandment if we are going to resort to LGBTQ+, you ask yourself? […] My position on the […] Bill is therefore a reflection of the overriding view and ethos of the New Patriotic Party and its membership.
The Catholic Church also endorsed the bill. Despite Papabile Cardinal Peter Turkson courageously standing firm against it and Pope Francis having universal power over the church, his Bishops initially expressed their support.
The 42-page bill, which is not yet finalized despite the vote, mockingly uses the acronym LGBTTQQIAAP+ and is written like a rant, leaving room for subjective interpretation by law enforcement and the judicial system. This promises discrimination, harassment, and bribery galore. Just look at these two provisions:
Propaganda, advocacy, support, and other promotional activities related to prohibited activities can result in imprisonment of five to ten years.
Funding or sponsorship of prohibited sexual activities can result in imprisonment of five to ten years. If a body corporate is convicted, the principal officers are also deemed to have committed the offense unless due diligence to prevent the offense can be proven.
The bill, even more unnecessary given the current criminalization of homosexuality in Ghana, will create a long-lasting state of apartheid for LGBTQ+ people. We have seen in Uganda how the “Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2023” resulted in preventing LGBTQ+ people from getting jobs, being housed, or even seeking medical care.
Invoking local culture and beliefs to undermine Human Rights is never a reasonable justification. It is the hallmark of genocidal ideology, as is when politicians publicly align themselves with hateful positions against a specific segment of the population. Ghana, which was central to the transatlantic slave trade during the period of European colonization, knows that slavery was too justified morally, culturally, and religiously. Democratic advancement hinges on mutual respect and care for each other's well-being rather than exploiting societal divisions for political gain.
Before this law is signed, the international community should warn the Government of Ghana again of its dire consequences. It should do so for moral reasons and to avoid further contagion on the continent. Some in the Government feel some sense of impunity because of Ghana’s role in fighting terrorism in the region and its commercial links to China. However, the country still depends on the support of bilateral, multilateral, and foreign companies as Ghana’s recovery looks highly fragile.
The Vatican must discipline Ghana’s bishops, starting with Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, for defying the Church’s stance that it is "unjust" to criminalize homosexuality. The Salvation Army must sever all ties with its local chapter, which has championed the bill through the Christian Council of Ghana.
The US and Europe should revoke the visas of the eight MPs who introduced the law and, whenever possible, freeze their assets abroad. The IMF should make it clear that it is counterproductive to repel Foreign Direct Investment by holding them liable for homosexuality while relying on foreign aid for macroeconomic stabilization and that the current deal will need to be renegotiated. The restructuring of Ghana's bilateral debt (which amounted to US$5.43bn at the end of 2022) under the G20 common framework for debt treatment should be paused for now. Similarly, the World Bank must slow down new project approvals and start reviewing its portfolio of operations in Ghana. Bilateral donors must review all aid flowing through local churches (see CNN investigation). The United Nations Secretary-General should express his concerns now rather than after promulgating them, as the Secretariat often does.
Hershey, Mars, Nestle, Mondelez, Cargill, and Ferrero, who import Ghanian beans and/or market products made from these beans to LGBTQ+ people, should collectively warn the government they will refocus on other producers like neighboring Ivory Coast if the bill becomes law. The International Cocoa Organization and the World Cocoa Foundation should express their concerns to parliamentarians and the business community through their channels. The mining company Newmont -which received a score of 100 percent in the 2016 Human Rights Campaign CEI- should enquire whether their global engagement on LGBTQ+ issues means they won’t be able to run the Ahafo North gold mine any longer. Vodafone, Coca-Cola, and Total should also be transparent with our organizations about their actions to fight the bill.
Local chambers of commerce and business organizations should make it clear that the Government’s hope to boost private-sector-led growth is incompatible with the intent to hold corporate officers liable for “sponsorship of homosexuality,” whatever that means (“where a body corporate is convicted [..] the principal officers of the body corporate by whatever name called, should be deemed to have also committed the offense.”)
Finally, the international community should demand that the Ghanaian political class refocus on genuine risks to the Ghanaian people, such as exposure to climate change and the country’s lack of preparedness, ongoing external debt mismanagement, rampant corruption, and business environment shortcomings such as skill mismatches, poor quality infrastructure, and inadequate transport links. These are the real risks to Ghana, not homosexuals or LGBTQ+ centers. Ghanaian politicians and religious leaders know it.
Our leading LGBTQ+ organizations in the U.S. also have some responsibility for diverting essential community resources for inflated salaries and vanity projects when they could be used to change hearts and minds at home or abroad. Most companies listed above are either members of the PGLE or HRC and GLAAD corporate partners; no effort was made to enroll them in resisting the bill. Social change in the U.S. costs billions of dollars yearly, so why do we think we will achieve the same in Ghana with $5000 grants at a time? Don’t we also have a responsibility when the fingerprints of the U.S. evangelical Churches are all over the current crisis?
Our apathy in the face of the Uganda and Ghana bills must stop here: LGBTQ+ people cannot continue to be the go-to scapegoat for corrupt and inept politicians. The risk of contagion is immense, as similar bills are now pending in Kenya (see here) and Namibia. It is time to take action.
I am sad and angry.