President Nana Akufo-Addo has said legalisation of homosexuality is bound to happen in Ghana if public opinion for it legalisation grows stronger.
Speaking to Aljazeera, the President said at the moment, legalisation of homosexuality is “not on the agenda” and that he does not see Ghanaians and civil society groups pushing for it.
The President, who was responding to questions on why homosexuality is illegal in Ghana, said homosexuality, which has in recent times dominated the headlines, was a social-cultural issue.
“These the socio-cultural issues if you like. I don’t believe in Ghana so far, a sufficiently strong coalition has emerged which is having that impact on public opinion that would say ‘change it, let have a new paradigm in Ghana,’” he said on “Talk to Aljazeera.”
“I think that it is something that is bound to happen and when that happens…,” the President was interrupted with a question on what he would do to legalise homosexuality.
In answering, he noted:“Like elsewhere in the world, the activities of individuals, of groups…
“I grew up in England, I went to school as a young boy and I grew up at a time in England when homosexuality was banned there, it was illegal.
According to him, ” I lived the period where British politicians thought it was nothing to even think about changing the law.
“And suddenly, the activities of individuals, of groups, a certain awareness, a development grew and grew stronger and it forced a change in law.”
The President noted that it is the emergence of a strong public opinion in favour of legalisation of homosexuality that will change the laws of Ghana on the global subject.
“I believe that those are the same processes that will bring about changes in our situation.
“At the moment, I don’t feel, I don’t see that in Ghana, there is that strong current of opinion that is saying ‘this is something we believe you can deal with’
“It is not a matter which is on the agenda.”
Ghana is among the top ranked countries in the world with strong anti-homosexuality sentiments.
In February this year, a group known as the Movement for the Kingdom Image (MFKI), called on the government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to enact laws that will make the defence of homosexuals a treasonable offence in Ghana.
“We want to entreat the Akufo-Addo government to immediately enact a legislation that would make a mere defence of homosexuality a treasonable offence to control the unnecessary defence of the sacrilegious and abominable act of lesbianism and [gayness] by some unscrupulous individuals and groups in the country,” the group demanded.
Ghana’s Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Mike Oquaye has also called for the amendment of the country’s laws to completely ban homosexuality and make it illegal.
He said: “It is unfortunate that people have become so liberal that they will want to liberalise Christianity…even priests are approving of homosexuality and allowing a man and a man [to] marry, a woman and a woman [to] marry and these are manifest abominations.”
“I trust that with your kind of insistence, the Parliament of Ghana will find its way clear in strengthening the laws to ban homosexuality as they exist. As for this, may God forbid that it becomes a Ghanaian culture,” he added.
