General News of Thursday, 3 May 2018
Source: Myjoyonline.com
2018-05-03
Professor Opoku Onyinah, Chairman of the Church of Pentecost
Chairman of the Church of Pentecost, Apostle Professor Opoku Onyinah says he will lead thousands of his congregants on a nationwide demonstration if Western pressure on the government to legalise Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights in Ghana continues.
He believes the attempts to get Ghana and other African countries to embrace same-sex marriages are part of a bigger scheme to dominate the continent.
“The call to legalise homosexuality, LGBT, by some leaders of the Western world must be seen as neo-colonialism and must be condemned at the highest level. We do not accept this as an aspect of civilization,” he said.
He was speaking at the church’s 43rd General Council Meeting held on Wednesday, May 2, 2018
“We do not accept this as an aspect of civilization. Africans must see ourselves as people who are matured and know what is good for us and our people. The church in Ghana will continue to reject and oppose this and we are prepared to demonstrate against this if pressure continues to mount on our leaders,” he added.
In recent times there has been intense pressure on the government to legalise homosexuality with the latest comment from the U.K prime minister Theresa May.
The UK prime minister drew cheers and applause when she told delegates at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting (CHOGM) recently that ”nobody should face discrimination or persecution because of who they are or who they love”.
She said the UK stands ready to assist developing countries to end the criminalization of homosexuality.
Same-sex relations are illegal in 36 Commonwealth member states, including nine that have a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
In Ghana, a law against ‘unnatural carnal knowledge’ is interpreted as criminalizing same-sex sexual encounters, especially between two males.