GHANA'S PARLIAMENT PASSES LGBTQ BILL, AWAITS PRESIDENTIAL ASSENT

Ghana’s Parliament on Friday approved legislation that makes “promotion” of LGBTQ activity a criminal offense, tightening restrictions on sexual minorities in the country.

The Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, was adopted by voice vote after the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee endorsed it. First Deputy Speaker Bernard Ahiafor announced the bill’s passage in the House.

The legislation was tabled last year after President John Dramani Mahama assumed office. MPs from the governing National Democratic Congress have faced calls from religious groups and other backers of the bill to push it through. Attention now turns to President Mahama, who is under pressure to sign it into law.

A similar measure cleared Parliament in 2024 under former President Nana Akufo-Addo, but legal challenges stalled it and Akufo-Addo did not assent before leaving office.

Friday’s bill keeps the current penalty of up to three years imprisonment for same-sex sexual acts. It goes further by outlawing the “funding, sponsorship or promotion” of LGBTQ activities, with jail terms of three to five years for offenders.

The bill also creates a “duty to report” clause. Anyone who fails to inform police or designated authorities about prohibited LGBTQ acts could face up to three years in prison.

Meanwhile, the Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has criticized the National Democratic Congress and the Majority in Parliament following the passage of the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, 2025.

Speaking after Friday’s voice vote, the Effutu MP accused the NDC of inconsistency and political expediency in its handling of the legislation.

Hon. Alexander Afenyo-Markin echoed those concerns, arguing that the Majority pushed through a version of the bill that differs from what was originally introduced in the Eighth Parliament.

He maintained that the NDC had rejected amendments proposed by the then-Minority when the bill was first laid. “As Majority Leader in the Eighth Parliament when our friends in the NDC introduced this bill and we invited them for discussions, drawing attention to the danger in certain clauses, they refused,” Rev. Fordjour had recalled on the floor.

The Minority Leader said the current posture of the Majority contradicts their earlier stance. He described the version passed on Friday as “odious, nugatory, empty,” adding that it fails to address the concerns the NDC previously championed.

“What you have passed today doesn’t address the very concerns you claim you believe in. Where is your principle?” Rev. Fordjour had asked in the chamber.

Hon. Afenyo-Markin said Ghanaians should compare the bill passed in the Eighth Parliament with the one adopted on Friday to see the changes. He argued that the NDC cannot present the same bill to President John Mahama for assent.

The Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, criminalizes the “funding, sponsorship or promotion” of LGBTQ activities with prison terms of three to five years. It also maintains up to three years’ imprisonment for same-sex sexual acts and introduces a “duty to report” clause.

But Hon. James Enu, Member of Parliament for Tema West and Vice Chairperson of the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee, has defended the process leading to the passage of the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, 2025, insisting the committee treated it as fresh legislation and made changes based on stakeholder feedback.

Speaking on the committee’s work, Hon. Enu clarified the status of the previous bill. “This bill, the last parliament in the eighth parliament, of course uh last parliament lapsed. The eighth parliament lapsed, it lapsed with all the bills before it, inclusive of the human sexual rights and family values bill,” he said.

He stressed that the current bill was not a mere continuation of the old one. “For us in the committee it’s a completely new bill. We approached the bill as a new bill that has to be considered by the committee. It wasn’t as if through the processes we were just going to adopt it, no,” he stated.

According to Hon. Enu, the committee adhered to full parliamentary procedure. “We had to take it through every stage of the process which we did. We engaged all the key stakeholders and we took on board suggestions and consents from all these uh key stakeholders,” he said.

He noted that some proposals from the consultations shaped the final draft. “At the end of the day some of the consents that were raised we noticed that they were quite legitimate,” he added.

The Tema West MP said he was taken aback by criticism from the Minority following the bill’s passage. “And it’s very very simple and I’m even surprised uh at the minority and and what they did,” he remarked.

Hon. Enu argued that amendments are a normal part of lawmaking. “To be fine. They will be the need to make amendments because law is very very dynamic. Sometimes as we enforce the law and practice the law that’s where we know where the challenges are and all that,” he explained.

Parliament passed the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, by voice vote on Friday after the committee recommended its adoption. The bill criminalizes “funding, sponsorship or promotion” of LGBTQ activities with three to five years’ imprisonment, retains up to three years for same-sex sexual acts, and introduces a “duty to report” clause.