I support Akufo-Addo's decision not to assent to Anti-LGBT+ bill - Martin Kpebu

Legal practitioner, Martin Luther Kpebu has said that he supports the decision of President Akufo-Addo to await the Supreme Court's ruling before proceeding with the Anti-LGBT+ Bill.

This comes after the president's office requested that Parliament hold off on sending the anti-LGBT+ Bill for presidential assent, citing two applications for injunctions against the bill at the Supreme Court.

Consequently, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, suspended the approval of ministerial nominees pending the Supreme Court's decision on a related case.

According to the speaker, on March 20, this suspension was due to an interlocutory injunction filed by MP Dafeamekpor.

However, in a live studio discussion on TV3 on March 23, 2024, Martin Kpebu argued that the president’s action was legally sound, and was necessary to prevent any steps that could undermine the court's authority.

“Let’s not make it look like it’s just a tit-for-tat. I would be one of the first persons to start saying tit-for-tat but that is on the face of it. There are various levels of analysis but when you go deeper, you find that both the speaker and president are talking law which is that when a matter is in court, don’t do anything that renders the case nugatory. In simple terms don’t do anything that will make the case a foolish case. That’s a contempt of court,”

He asserted that the President's stance was justified and aligned with the correct course of action. While he initially perceived the situation as reciprocal retaliation, further analysis led him to conclude that the President's decision was not mistaken.

“So, in this case, the President is right and he has my support 130%. When he says he is not signing the anti-gay bill because the case is pending in the Supreme Court”

ID/EK

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