‘Animal Farm’ Politics: Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill fracas vindicates Dr Bawumia - Sam Pyne

Former Kumasi Mayor, Sam Pyne, has declared that the ongoing procedural friction surrounding the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, popularly known as the Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill completely vindicates former vice president Dr Mahamudu Bawumia against historical opposition slander.

Speaking on Peace FM’s flagship morning show Kokrokoo on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, Pyne chided political critics who previously weaponised the controversial bill to attack the former vice president's personal principles and the erstwhile Nana Akufo-Addo administration.

"The opposition slandered Dr Mahamudu Bawumia over this controversial bill to the extent that he previously had to explicitly respond to critics at a mosque, clarifying that as a Muslim, his core beliefs and principles strictly oppose LGBTQ+ practices," Pyne stated.

Reacting to the flagged 22 deletions and 31 clause insertions; Pyne referenced George Orwell’s satirical novel Animal Farm to describe the shifting legislative goalposts.

Ghana's Parliament passes anti-LGBTQ bill again

To illustrate the political trap the bill's proponents constructed for themselves, Pyne deployed an African proverb; "If you hang in the air to play drums, you dance to the tune of the drums while still hanging."

Pyne argued that while Ghana's opposition to same-sex unions dates back decades, the rush to pass the new framework without rigorous stakeholder consultation is what triggered the current legal gridlock.

"Our Criminal Offenses Act, put together during Kwame Nkrumah’s era long before any of us panel members were born, stated clearly that Ghana does not accept same-sex marriage," Pyne noted.

"As society evolves, it is important to guide the process with documented laws to prevent such practices from festering. But if proponents had sat down to iron this out properly, these controversies wouldn’t have arisen," he added

Addressing the highly disputed clauses regarding medical and legal counsel for LGBTQ+ individuals, the former mayor offered a harsh analogy defending the bill's strict boundaries against professional facilitation.

"Look at the deletion and insertion disputes from a legal and medical perspective. If a homsexual individual goes to a doctor to seek counsel on changing their sex, it creates a unique problem. I admit that when an armed robber is arrested, he has the right to a lawyer. But if that robber asks the lawyer for guidance on how to discharge the gun well, the lawyer becomes an accomplice. They are complicit in the crime," Pyne said.

Ghana's Parliament recently passed the revised anti-LGBTQ+ bill, also known as the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, on Friday, May 29, 2026.

VPO