Suspected gay attacked by angry friends at Madina

The fight against same sex relationships which is abhorred in Ghana was taken to an extreme on Thursday by a group of friends in the same neighborhood accusing another of being gay.

The victim identified as Rabiu Seibou Mahammed was openly attacked and beaten up together with his suspected 'partner' at Madina Zongo Junction in Accra.

The action which happened in the full glare of the public many of who thought he was a thief, was allegedly plotted by Rabiu's friends to catch him red-handed.

Hence, when the friends heard he was going to meet a new 'boyfriend' he had met on Facebook and planned to meet him at a popular restaurant around Zongo Junction, they decided to spy on him to find out what he was going to do.

According to eyewitness accounts, Mahammed and his visitor spent a long time at the restaurant chatting happily over drinks before finally walking out holding each other's hands.

This convinced the friends, numbering over ten, they were headed somewhere to be intimate. The scene attracted shouts and insults hurled at Mahammed and his new friend, before pouncing on them, beating them mercilessly.

"We saw the guys standing in a corner outside the restaurant for a long time so we were even wondering what they were up to when suddenly they caught the two guys coming out of the restaurant and started beating them. It was very bad and we even thought they had stolen something," an eyewitness said.

He continued, "It was a policeman who was directing traffic near the place who intervened. He told them to stop beating the guys and take them to the Police station. That was when the attackers explained that they were beating Mahammed because he was gay and even his family supported their action."

The explanation by Rabiu Mahammed's angry friends threw bystanders including the security personnel in a state of shock eventually leading to outbursts.

Although the police man asked them to stop beating them, the victim's friends vowed to continue with the attacks until he (Rabiu) stops having same-sex relationships.

They claim he is a disgrace to his "highly religious family" and must be forced to stop being gay.