Signing of Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill: Is President Mahama flip-flopping?

Conversations and discussions about the controversial anti-LGBTQ bill have resurfaced under the newly installed government.

The bill dubbed the ‘Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values’, which was passed by the 8th Parliament, became a significant point of contention during the tenure of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

When the private members' bill was passed with unanimous approval, many speculated that it might receive assent from then-President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, despite the controversy surrounding its criminalisation of homosexuality and its harsh provisions.

Things took an unexpected turn when several lawsuits were filed against the bill, leading to a delay in its signing. Eventually, the bill, which became an albatross for the previous government, remained just a bill and was not passed into law before Akufo-Addo left power.

During his campaign, John Dramani Mahama, who was the NDC’s presidential candidate at the time, expressed his disapproval of same-sex marriages and relationships, emphasising his commitment to ensuring that such practices would not be allowed under his government.

What he said during BBC interview

In December 2024, during an interview with the BBC, Mahama stated that a future NDC government would sign the anti-LGBTQ+ bill depending on its contents and specifics.

According to him, although LGBTQ+ activities do not align with the country's culture, values, and religious beliefs, there must be thorough scrutiny of what the bill proposes and aims to enforce before it is signed into law.

“It is not an anti-LGBTQ+ Bill, but a Family Values Bill. It was approved unanimously by our Parliament. You see, it’s against our culture, I mean African culture, our religious faith - Muslim and Christian and all that. But I think we must look at the bill, and the president must indicate what he finds wrong with the bill and send the bill back to Parliament or alternatively, he must send it to the Council of State and get the Council of State’s advice,” he stated.

Asked by the interviewer if that is what he would have done, Mahama affirmatively said, “That’s what I would have done.”

What he said during meeting with clergy

During a meeting with the clergy in October 2024, John Dramani Mahama gave his assurance to the clergymen, indicating that under his presidency, such practices will not be tolerated.

“My fathers and mothers in Christ, the current legal impasse created by the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia administration on the Promotion of Proper Human Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Act, which was passed by Parliament, has set a dangerous precedence for our governance. The constitutional directive for action by the president are quite clear and need not have resulted in this stalemate.

“As I’ve publicly stated, I’m a proud member of the Assemblies of God Church and my faith does not support same-sex marriages or relationships (loud applause for over 20 seconds) nor does it support human-animal relationships, or does it allow people to change their gender as they wish. This is a fundamental belief that I hold and is grounded in my faith. I, therefore, assure you that the promotion of LGBTQ+ and all the pluses will have no place in our schools and communities under my administration,” he said.

However, President Mahama’s recent comments on the controversial topic have attracted attention and sparked widespread concern regarding his shift in position.

What Mahama is saying now

Addressing a delegation of Catholic bishops from the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference during a courtesy call on January 14, 2025, President John Dramani Mahama suggested a government-sponsored LGBTQ+ bill, as opposed to one led by private members.

According to him, making the anti-LGBTQ+ bill a government-sponsored initiative would allow the country's cultural values to be integrated into various curricula taught to students and would remove the need for a separate bill aimed at enforcing family values in the country.

“I think it should not be a Private Member’s Bill, but a government-sponsored one. If we were teaching our values in schools, we wouldn’t need to pass a bill to enforce our family values, and that is why I think more than even the family values bill, is us agreeing on a curriculum that inculcates these values into our children as they are growing up, so that we don’t need to legislate it.

“I don’t know what the promoters of the bill intend to do, but I think we should have a conversation on it again so that all of us, if we decide to move on the way forward, we move forward with a consensus,” he said.

President Mahama highlighted the challenges encountered by the initial anti-LGBTQ+ bill, including legal and procedural issues.

“But as far as I know, the bill did not get to the president. And so, the convention is that all bills that are not ascended to before the expiration of the life of Parliaments expire. And so, that bill effectively is dead, it has expired,” he stated.

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