The renowned evangelist and president of the Worldwide Miracle Outreach, Rev Lawrence Tetteh, has urged Ghanaians not to be violent towards LGBTQ persons, even as he expressed his opposition to the practice. He said this during a discussion on GTV’s breakfast show with host Kafui Dey on the subject of the stalling of the passage of the anti-LGBTQ bill in Ghana.
The bill, which seeks to criminalise and punish LGBTQ activities and advocacy in the country, has generated heated debate and controversy among various stakeholders, including religious leaders, human rights activists, politicians, and the general public. The bill has also attracted international attention and criticism from some foreign governments and organisations, who have threatened to cut aid and impose sanctions on Ghana if the bill is passed.
Rev Lawrence Tetteh, who is a Christian, said that he does not endorse LGBTQ and that he would be a coward and a hypocrite if he did. He said that LGBTQ is not part of Ghanaian culture and tradition, and that it goes against the teachings of the Bible and the Quran. However, he also said that LGBTQ persons should not be subjected to violence and hatred, but rather be shown love and compassion, and be won over to Christ or Allah.
“The only thing I keep saying is that we shouldn’t be violent towards them. Let’s see how we can win them to Christ, just like they will win them to Allah. But it is not our culture, it is not our tradition,” he said.
He also expressed his concern about the political implications of the bill, noting that most of the sponsors of the bill were from the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), while only one was from the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).
He questioned the motives and interests of the politicians who have failed to support the bill, and urged them not to forget their civic responsibility to the people.
“And some of you, don’t cry more than the bereaved. I am looking at the people who are part of the bill and I am getting very worried. I had the privilege to go to parliament in the early days of this programme, and we were invited to parliament and I noticed that up until now, seven of the people are NDC and it looks as if only one is NPP. What are we trying to prove and who are we trying to impress? These are some of the little things that I say the nonsense must stop. Don’t be too politically right to forget your civic responsibility. In our bid to be politically right, we would be losing the people that we are supposed to be leading,” he said.
He called for a balance and a convergence on the issue, and suggested that the bill should not be too harsh or lenient, but rather reflect what is good for Ghana.
“Yes, let’s create a balance, I believe that. Let’s get to a point of convergence, I believe that. Let’s find a way around it to make sure that at least it is not too stringent a point to take, but let’s also make sure that what is good for Ghana is what we want to maintain,” he noted.