Your 2017 interview with Aljazeera gave us hope – LGBTQ+ Ghana to Akufo-Addo

LGBT+ Rights Ghana, a group advocating for the rights of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgenders and persons of other sexual orientations, has urged President Nana Akufo-Addo to adhere to laws that guarantee the rights of LGBT+ people, stressing that President’s stance on LGBT+ rights in 2017 gave them hope but recent developments have made them an endangered species.

The call is contained in a a letter dated March 8, 2021and signed by the Director of LGBT+ Rights Ghana, Mr Alex Kofi Donkor.

Among others, the group condemned the recent closure of its office in Accra and plans by some seven parliamentarians to sponsor legislation banning the activities of LGBT+ people.

“In 2017, your position on the subject during the interview on Aljazeera gave us HOPE that finally we had a President who understood the dynamics of the issue at hand and whose government would be tolerant to the rights of minoritized groups like us…But events since that time have worsened our plight and made us become more endangered,” the letter said in part.

There appears to be a crackdown on the LGBT+ community in Ghana ever since it came to light that the community had opened an office in Accra to advocate for their rights. Following massive expression of outrage by Ghanaians, especially those on social media, Government closed down the office and the President later declared that civil unions of the LGBT+ community will never be legalised in Ghana under his tenure as President.

In Parliament, some seven parliamentarians have said that they will sponsor a bill that criminalises activities of the LGBT+ community in much clearer terms since the current law appears unclear on the illegality of LGBT+ activities in the country.