Dormaahene, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu II, has cautioned President Akufo-Addo against his recent indifferent statements on the subject of LGBTQ criminalisation in Ghana.
According to the Dormaahene, Ghana’s current leaders have failed to explicitly make known the stance of majority of Ghana with regards to same-sex relations.
He noted that Ghanaian tradition abhors homosexuality and would not accept such acts. He insisted that the leaders must be “bold” and inform the Western world of the country’s decision.
“We want the West to know that there is no way we are going to accept LGBTQIA+. We support all African countries including Uganda who are enacting laws against these activities.
“Our custom is that if a man sees a woman he likes, he goes with his family to engage the family of the woman and they marry and this is what the Bible also supports. We will never accept marriage between a man and a man or a woman and a woman.
“I plead with our current leaders, anytime they speak about this issue of LGBT, they fail to go straight to the point. They are warm and cold on it. If you’re speaking on this issue, be bold and speak directly that the customs of the people of Ghana do not support them,” he said in Twi.
He made the statement at a gathering in Dormaa, in a video shared by Abranpredease TV on Wednesday.
The Dormaahene, who is also a High Court judge in his private life, also said that if the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout and other assistance pledged by the Western countries are preconditioned with Ghana accepting LGBT activities, then the government should reject these offers.
He also criticised the Vice President of the United States of America, Kamala Harris, for saying that LGBTQ is a human rights issue during her three-day visit to Ghana, saying “when she was coming to Ghana did she come with a female as her husband or a man”.
What Akufo-Addo said:
At the joint press conference, both President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Kamala Harris were confronted with the issue of the criminalization of LGBTQ+ activities in Ghana.
Responding to the question at Jubilee House, in Accra, on Monday, March 27, President Akufo-Addo refuted the suggestion that Ghana already had an anti-LGBT law.
He said that the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, 2021 (Anti-LGBTQI bill), which was championed by “only a hand full of MPs”, is currently being considered by Parliament.
Akufo-Addo added that even if the bill is passed, it will still have to be ratified by him. He also said that the anti-LGBT bill has been modified.
“The legislation was a private members bill; it is not an official legislation of the government but it is one that is being muted by a hand full of private members.
“My understanding from the recent discussion I had with the chairman of the committee is that the substantial elements of the bill have already been modified as a result of the intervention of the Attorney General,” he said.