A-Plus offers apology to gays

Multi-Talented Ghanaian satirist A Plus has apologised to homosexuals in Ghana and Africa for homophobic comments he made publicly early this year.

A-Plus, in February this year, posted on British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Africa’s facebook page a comment that read: “there is a one way mission to Mars. All gays can join. Fortunately you are not coming back to earth. Africa hates you. We hate gays.”

The comment was made in relation to the attempt to criminalise homosexuality in Uganda.

The satirist has however made a u-turn and apologised over the comments in an interview with Joy FM’s Lexis Bill last week. “Using the word hate was very wrong and I apologise for using the word hate.

Anybody on the BBC who heard me say the word hate or anybody who is homosexual and was offended by my use of the word hate, understand that using the word hate was very wrong; you can’t hate anybody,” A-Plus said in the interview.

Indeed way back in February, the international news agency took offence at the anti-gay comment from A-Plus moments after it was posted.

The BBC, on the same facebook platform, replied A-Plus within minutes: “You are hereby banned from posting on BBC AFRICA Facebook for your hateful message. We are also reporting you to Facebook.

This is a space for healthy comment and debate but we reserve the right to delete comments which are racist, sexist, homophobic, sexually explicit, abusive or otherwise objectionable… BBC AFRICA also reserves the right to ban users whose posts promote hate speech or advocate violence of any kind.”

Though it was pointed out to A-Plus that hating the act of homosexuality is not same as hating gays and so for him to have stated that he hates gays without any explanation, he was not limiting his hatred to the act but was making a hate speech against people who prefer same sex. He had, however, remained adamant and told NEWS-ONE by then that he was not the least perturbed about the BBC ban.

It is therefore curious and somewhat a surprise that A-Plus, nine clear months after the comment, has decided to apologise.