The Supreme Court of Ghana
The Supreme Court has thrown out a petition filed by broadcast journalist and lawyer Richard Dela Sky, challenging the constitutionality of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill.
The Parliament of Ghana, on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, passed the Promotion of Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, widely known as the Anti-LGBT+ Bill.
The bill, currently awaiting presidential assent, outlaws Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) activities and criminalises their promotion, advocacy, and funding.
Persons caught in these acts will be subjected to a six-month to three-year jail term, with promoters and sponsors facing a three to five-year jail term.
The bill now requires presidential assent to come into force within seven days. However, if President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo refuses to assent to the bill, Parliament, by a two-thirds majority vote, can pass it into law.
The Office of the President has instructed the Parliament of Ghana not to attempt to transmit the Anti-gay Bill until the two legal actions against its passage in the Supreme Court are resolved.
The Speaker of Parliament, at a recent media engagement, ordered the Clerk of Parliament to transmit the bill to the president for him to make a decision on, while accusing the executive and the judiciary of conniving to undermine the authority of Parliament.
BAI/