Parliamentary members of Ghana’s minority party said they preferred the version of the bill passed in 2024, claiming that amendments to the current legislation have watered it down.
”The bill appears, and not only appears, substantially has lost the force and the bite and the thrust, the deterrence, the efficacy that it contained and carried in 2024,” minority spokesperson John Ntim Forjour explained.
The current version exempts punishment for legal, healthcare and media professionals who provide medical treatment and other services for gay people, or report on LGBTQ+ news.
Meanwhile, anyone who identifies as an “ally” – a supporter of LGBTQ+ people – could face a prison sentence.
Both forms of the legislation have been widely criticised by rights groups for infringing on the rights of sexual minorities.
Human Rights Watch recommended the bill be abandoned in a formal submission to the constitutional and legal affairs committee scrutinising the legislation in the capital, Accra.
But advocates of the bill argue it will help preserve Ghanaian family values.
Several African countries have cracked down on LGBTQ+ rights in recent years.
Senegal’s parliament approved similar legislation in March prescribing a maximum prison term of 10 years for sexual acts by same-sex couples and criminalising the ”promotion” of homosexuality.
Uganda introduced a death penalty for certain same-sex acts in 2023.
