ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Lawmakers in Ghana have approved legislation Friday that would sentence individuals to as many as 10 years behind bars for promoting LGBTQ activities, bringing back legislation that religious organizations in the West African nation have long advocated for while human rights groups have denounced it.
The legislation, anticipated to receive President John Dramani Mahama’s signature, would also sentence individuals to three years in prison for participating in LGBTQ acts.
A previous iteration of this legislation was approved in 2024 but never received the signature of former President Nana Akufo-Addo to become law, though advocacy groups and religious organizations have persistently campaigned for a version of this bill and Mahama has signaled his willingness to support it.
Ghana becomes part of an expanding number of African nations implementing legislation that outlaws homosexuality. These laws receive widespread backing in many traditional African nations despite global criticism.
The new law prohibits “promoting, sponsoring or advocating” LGBTQ acts, along with financing LGBTQ organizations and activities. The legislation also establishes a five-year prison sentence for operating a brothel for prohibited sexual activity.
Those backing the legislation claim it safeguards what they characterize as Ghanaian family values and cultural traditions, while opponents argue it breaches constitutional rights and may promote discrimination and mistreatment of sexual minorities.
Human Rights Watch criticized the legislation and called on Ghana’s government to “uphold the international legal protections that guarantee every Ghanaian the rights to equality, nondiscrimination, freedom of expression, and privacy.”
Same-sex relationships are currently illegal in Ghana under existing colonial-era legislation that bans what it terms “unnatural carnal knowledge.” The new law, however, greatly broadens these limitations by making advocacy, support and related activities connected to LGBTQ acts illegal.
When the earlier version was approved in 2024, Ghana’s Finance Ministry cautioned that implementing it might threaten billions of dollars in international funding and assistance from development partners.
Over 30 of Africa’s 54 nations have legislation criminalizing same-sex relationships. Some laws include lengthy prison sentences exceeding 10 years, while countries such as Somalia, Uganda and Mauritania impose the death penalty.
