Dafeamekpor's suit to compel Akufo-Addo to decide on Anti-gay bill dismissed

The mandamus application filed by Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, the Member of Parliament for South Dayi, to compel Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin and President Akufo-Addo to act on the Anti-LGBT+ Bill within seven days has been dismissed by a High Court in Accra.

According to a report by 3news.com, the judge presiding over the case, Justice Ellen Lordina Serwaa Mireku, dismissed the mandamus application using her discretionary powers.

She explained that two suits filed by private citizens—Prof. Amanda Odoi and Richard Dela Sky—at the Supreme Court of Ghana had direct implications for Dafeamekpor's mandamus application and hence declined the MP's reliefs.

Prior to the dismissal of the case, Chief State Attorney Sylvia Adeso, representing the Office of the Attorney General, urged Justice Mireku to reject Dafeamekpor's application because the High Court lacked jurisdiction to grant it.

But the judge ruled that the court had jurisdiction to hear the matter.

Background:

Dafeamekpor applied to the High Court to compel the Speaker of Parliament to submit the Anti-LGBT+ Bill to the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo within seven days.

The plaintiff also asked the court to compel the President to receive the anti-gay bill and either sign or indicate to Parliament if he cannot assent to it within the same period.

The application for judicial review in the nature of mandamus, which was filed on March 22, 2024, was premised on the grounds that the Parliament of Ghana had duly passed the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill in compliance with Article 106 (1), (2), (3), (4), (5) and (6) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.

The legislator also argued that the bill "must be transmitted to and received by the President of Ghana for assent or otherwise, in accordance with Article 106 (7) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana."

About the passage of the anti-gay 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, proscribes Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) activities and criminalizes 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 will now require presidential assent to come into force within 7 days. However, if President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo refuses to assent to the bill, parliament, by a two-third majority vote, can approve it into law.

The Office of the President has ordered the Parliament of Ghana not to attempt to transmit the Anti-gay Bill till two legal actions against it in the Supreme Court are determined.

BAI/SEA

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