One of the eight Members of Parliament sponsoring the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, Rockson-Nelson Defeamekpor, has emphasized that the bill’s primary objective is not to intentionally imprison offenders.
Instead, he clarified that its purpose is to act as a deterrent and to facilitate reforms within the context of promoting proper human sexual rights and Ghanaian family values.
Speaking in on Joy FM’s Top Story on Tuesday, December 12, he said, “Nobody is intending to imprison anybody with this bill. It is a conduct that we think that we should check as a sovereign people.”
In the midst of deliberations, Parliament faced a challenge in reaching a consensus on the suitable penalties for individuals within the LGBTQ+ community engaging in what is described as unnatural carnal knowledge with one another.
The proposed legislation criminalizes sexual activities between individuals of the same sex, as well as those involving a person with an animal or object, advocating for imprisonment ranging from 3 to 5 years. Despite this, the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee suggested a potential prison sentence of up to 3 years, refraining from specifying a minimum required sentence.
Mr Dafeamekpor said: “I support the lower limit. The legislation we are considering, which would lead to an enactment, involves certain aspects of conduct that we need to proscribe, and not all of them should necessarily lead to custodial sentences. Regarding the minimum, which became a point of contention on the floor, it means the court wouldn’t have the discretion to even caution someone and discharge them after they have been convicted. However, the intention of this legislation is not necessarily to imprison people.”
Furthermore, Rockson-Nelson Defeamekpor added that the bill is crafted in a manner that allows the court to afford individuals found guilty a second chance to reform their behavior.
“There would be circumstances where, after a successful prosecution and conviction, the court may be inclined, depending on the peculiarity of the case and the applicable law, to merely caution the person to go and be of good conduct.”
In light of the bill’s objectives, Rockson-Nelson Defeamekpor urged international stakeholders for their support, emphasizing the bill’s intended focus. During the discussion, Edem Senanu, Chairman of Advocates of Christ Ghana, echoed agreement with the idea that the court could caution individuals found guilty of engaging in same-sex activities.
Senanu deemed this approach as fair, suggesting that in cases where individuals receive multiple cautions, there should be a mechanism in place to escalate sanctions as needed.
“The concept is not bad. It is to ensure that certain things are not promoted. I don’t think that anyone should have a problem if the judge thinks that the merits of a case are such that they want to caution an individual,” he added.