Mr. Richard Ahiagbah, Director of Communications for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has requested that former President John Dramani Mahama, who is running for the position of flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), state his position on the ongoing discussion regarding homosexuality in Ghana. This discussion is being brought up by Mr. Ahiagbah.
Mr. Ahiagbah posed this question to His Excellency John Dramani Mahama in the form of a tweet: “What is H.E. John Dramani Mahama’s position on the evolving LGBTQ+ debate?” What exactly is it?
His remarks come at a time when a member of parliament for Ningo Prampram, Samuel Nartey George, said that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo missed an opportunity to make it clear that Ghana would not tolerate any expression of homosexuality during a meeting with US Vice President Kamala Harris, but he did not. George is the member of parliament for Ningo Prampram. His comments come at the same time.
According to Sam George, the president made a mistake.
Sam George, who is one of the sponsors of the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, made the following statement while appearing on News 360 with Martin Asiedu Darteh on TV3 on Monday, March 27, 2019.
He said, “First, I thought President Akufo-Addo would have used this opportunity to send a clear message to the world and the country that his fidelity is to the Ghanaian people.
On the basis of the Constitution of 1992, which he took an oath to uphold, he would have made it abundantly clear that Ghana is not going to tolerate any expressions of homosexuality by sending a message to that effect.
“Second, it was known that this would be a topic, and I anticipated that he would have shown that he was on top of his brief in order to satisfy my expectations.” In both of these areas, President Akufo-Addo made a mistake and performed poorly.
“The President doesn’t know what he is talking about, the Bill has not substantially changed, the Bill remains as tough and as rigid as it was. The focus of the Bill has not changed, and the objective has not changed.”
His comments came not long after President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said he didn’t support a bill that would make being gay illegal.
Proposed under a Private Members’ Bill, the anti-gay bill is expected to criminalize some of the activities of homosexuals in Ghana.
When President Akufo-Addo was called on, he confirmed that the bill is currently before Parliament, which will decide on it, but that the majority of its provisions are being fine-tuned. He also stated that the bill is expected to pass.
It hasn’t been passed, so the statement that there is legislation to that effect in Ghana is not accurate, he said. “The statement that there is legislation in Ghana to that effect is not accurate.”
“Parliament is dealing with it, and at the end of the process, I will come in,” he added. “I apologize for any confusion this may have caused.”
During the course of the latter’s three-day visit to the country, US Vice President Harris paid a visit to the seat of government, where he was greeted by President Akufo-Addo.
She emphasized how strongly she believes that it is important to support and fight for the cause of human rights, including the rights of LGBTQ people.
“For the members of the American press who are in attendance, you are aware that a significant portion of the work I have done throughout my career has focused on addressing human rights issues and equality issues across the globe, including issues pertaining to the LGBTQ community, and I have a very strong conviction regarding the significance of supporting freedom and fighting for quality among all people.