Family of lynched gay man's partner demand maximum security

A group of Muslim youth at Aboabo in the Kumasi Metropolis in the Ashanti Region who killed a man they accused of being gay, are now trying to track down his partner 4 years after terrorizing his grandmother to death as the calling for the Inspector General of Police (IGP), to give them maximum security.

According to otecnews source, the trouble started when two men, Kwaku Adepa Riche Dallas,28 years and Osei John, 34 years, described as “suspected homosexuals,” started “flaunting their romantic relationship in the Muslim-dominated area in Kumasi in October 2014.”

Two young men confronted Osei John, the deceased about his “ignominious” relationship with Kwaku Adepa, which led to a scuffle. The men then rallied a mob of around 30 people who stormed Osei’s house, stripped him naked and lynched him, presumably by hanging.

The mob moved on to Kwaku Adepa’s home, but he had been warned of the impending attack by a family friend and was able to flee in time. He is said to now be in hiding.

The youth are reported to be determined to hunt down Mr Kwaku Adepa to eliminate what they called the “curse” of homosexuality when even they seen a young who resembles him.

The police said that it was difficult to identify the individuals behind mob attacks as the family of the late Osei John calling for justice.

Meanwhile, the family of Mr Kwaku Adepa Riche Dallas whose whereabouts is not yet known are living in fears as irate youth continue to attack them are calling for the Inspector General of Police (IGP), David Asante-Apeatu to come to their aid in providing them with adequate security they prepare for the final funeral for their late Grandmother, Obaapanim Adwoa Adepa Akoto early April, 2018.

Under Ghanaian criminal law, consensual same-sex sexual activity between men is illegal, with penalties including imprisonment for three years.

In February 2012, the late President Atta Mills stated that while “Ghanaian societies frown on homosexuality” and the country would not legalise homosexuality, “nobody can say in Ghana we discriminate against homosexuality, there is no witch-hunting on homosexuality.”

A 2012 US Department of State Human Rights Report, however, found that “LGBT persons faced widespread discrimination, as well as police harassment and extortion attempts” in Ghana.

In June of 2013, a self-styled ‘prophet’ claimed that a series of fires that gutted markets in the country were God’s wrath against homosexuality in Ghana.

In November of that year, the education ministry promised to crack down on students caught engaging in gay or lesbian “practices” in order to “stamp out homosexuality that has crept into several senior high schools”.