The Former Chairman of the Ghana Aids Commission expressed disappointment with the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, for describing the practice as “filthy”.
Professor Sai told Citi News the vehement condemnation of homosexuality by the Church and other religious clerics is saddening.
According to him, times have changed so the Church must review its position as far as its views of homosexuals are concerned.
Professor Sai, who is a Former President of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences and one-time Adviser to Former President Kufuor on sexual health issues, was speaking at a roundtable to mark his 83rd birthday anniversary at his residence in Accra on Thursday June 23.
“There are Constitutional provisions also which talks about autonomy. Meaning a human being given freedom to do with his own body what he wants provided his freedom and the expression of that freedom does injure somebody. So why should what two people do in their privacy without confronting anybody, be subject to the law when the law itself has got all of these provisions.
It is really not appreciating what the law provides or we are limiting the interpretation of the law to suit ourselves or our circumstances rather than making it free for people to enjoy the provisions of the Constitution. My personal position on this practice is that, I wouldn’t practise it but who am I to judge someone who does it? Especially as a doctor, I don’t know whether there is a biological basis for it, a psychological basis for it, or simply a person’s choice. I don’t know” he said.
Professor Sai said the provisions in the Criminal Code which purportedly forbids homosexuality could be challenged as being inconsistent with the 1992 Constitution which guarantees personal freedoms and liberties.
“I have tried asking people what they will consider to be unnatural canal knowledge. And somebody started with oral sex; somebody said anal intercourse whether man-to-man or man-to-woman. And then someone else including me said how about the finger being used as a sex organ? Is that natural or unnatural? And these are issues that in Europe, some group would have gone to Court without claiming that there have been any damages done, they will just challenge that this particular law is in conflict with the Constitutional provision so let the Supreme Court decide!”.
The debate about legalising homosexuality in Ghana appears to have deepened in recent times following reports that 8,000 homosexuals, particularly gay men, have been registered by some non-governmental organizations in two regions of the country.
There are concerns that the growing incidence of homosexuality especially among the youth will have a direct effect on the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS and other diseases; homosexuals tend to have a higher prevalence and transfer rate.
But some human rights activists and proponents of the practice insist that some people are into homosexuality not by choice but because they were born that way. According to them, the fact that homosexuality is abnormal does not and should not make it criminal.
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