Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor, a co-sponsor of the anti-LGBTQ+ bill, has characterized attempts by Civil Society Organizations to challenge the newly passed bill as premature.
He argues that until the bill is signed into law, there is no legal basis for it to be challenged in the Supreme Court. Dafeamekpor made these remarks during an appearance on JoyFM’s Newsnight on March 4.
He explained that challenging a bill in court at this stage would suggest that the basis for the challenge is more about expressing opposition than about a legitimate legal concern.
The South Dayi MP emphasized that if opposition to the bill was the reason for going to court, then that would be based on a faulty premise.
“So, you can not challenge a declaration of intention in the court of law. Your cause of action cannot rise upon a declaration of intention so that school of thought is faulty. It is built on a faulty premise. I am ready to file an amicus in respect of anybody who will go to challenge this matter.
“Let the law be assented to and given effect as law probably so-called. Then the validity in terms of its constitutionality can be challenged. But until we get there, any call for any person to proceed to the Supreme Court is premature,” he told host, Evans Mensah.
He further mentioned that last year, certain individuals took the controversial bill to the Supreme Court for challenge, but the court ruled that a bill cannot be challenged until it becomes law.
In the meantime, President Akufo-Addo has assured the international community of Ghana’s commitment to upholding human rights despite the bill’s passage. During a diplomatic engagement, the President emphasized Ghana’s longstanding reputation for respecting human rights and adhering to the rule of law.
He clarified that the bill is currently facing a legal challenge at the Supreme Court, and until a decision is reached, his government will not take any action on the private Member’s bill.
“l am aware that last week’s bi-partisan passage by Parliament of the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, on a Private Member’s motion, has raised considerable anxieties in certain quarters of the diplomatic community and amongst some friends of Ghana that she may be turning her back on her, hitherto, enviable, longstanding record on human rights observance and attachment to the rule of law. I want to assure you that no such back-sliding will be contemplated or occasioned.”
President Akufo-Addo clarified that the bill has not yet reached his desk for any formal action. He stated that any decision he makes regarding the bill would depend on the outcome of the lawsuit filed against it in the Supreme Court.
“I think it will serve little purpose to go, at this stage, into the details of the origin of this proposed law, which is yet to reach my desk. But, suffice it to say, that I have learnt that, today, a challenge has been mounted at the Supreme Court by a concerned citizen to the constitutionality of the proposed legislation,” the President added.