Thank you, Cardinal Turkson, for the Christian compassion and leadership

An article dedicated to the esteemed memory of Lawyer Akoto Ampaw

Parliament has started the Consideration stage of the anti-LGBTQ+ Bill, coincidentally at the time when we’re mourning the death of lawyer Akoto Ampaw, a strong opponent of the Bill.

It’s tragic that he didn’t live to hear the emphatic affirmation, by no less a person than Cardinal Peter Appiah Turkson, of the right of homosexuals to live free from persecution; that there is no need to criminalise them.

Commenting on the draft law initially known as the ‘Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, 2021’ in a recent BBC interview, Cardinal Turkson, an eminent Ghanaian Prelate and Cardinal of the Catholic Church, stated that homosexuals should not be criminalised because their lifestyle does not constitute a criminal offence.

In July, 2023 Parliament had unanimously approved the Bill to enable its progression towards becoming law. However, its Draconian proposed sanctions have generated much controversy in Ghana and abroad.

Interviewed by Stephen Sackur on the BBC’s HARDTalk programme on November 27, 2023, Cardinal Turkson said: “My position has simply been this, that LGBT, gay people, may not be criminalised because they’ve committed no crime.”

However, he added, “neither should this position also become something to be imposed on cultures, which are not yet ready to accept (such a sexual inclination) …”

“My position is contrary to what has just been passed. To criminalise anybody, (you have to be) able to identify the crime….”

Moreover, Cardinal Turkson stated, “the Ghanaian culture has known of people with some such tendencies, and I say this because there is an expression in the local Akan language, of men who act like women, and women who act like men. There is an expression for them, which means that this phenomenon is known in the culture and in the community.”

The following are excerpts from the Bill, as explained in the accompanying Memorandum:

“Clause 5 imposes an obligation on a person in whose presence an offence specified in the Bill is committed to report the commission of the offences to the police ….

“By Clause 12, a person who, by use of media … or any other means … publishes or distributes a material for purposes of promoting an activity prohibited under the Bill, or (promotes) an activity prohibited under the Bill commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a term of imprisonment not less than five years and not more than ten years” (emphasis added).

One issue that has long bothered me is why even religious leaders in Ghana don’t demonstrate any compassion in this matter, although compassion is an essential teaching of all the faiths.

Most have been declaring fervent support for the Bill, despite its excessive sentences not only for homosexuals, but also even for those who undertake any activity seen as “promoting” the practice; as well as those who don’t ‘snitch’ on gays! How religious is that?!

So thank you, Cardinal Turkson, for highlighting the need for humaneness.

And coming from such a high authority, I hope it helps influence a flexible attitude during this critical Consideration period when amendments are possible, notably as Speaker Alban Bagbin is on record as saying that Parliament will pass the draft law before Parliament rises for the Christmas break.

The Bill dates back to July, 2021, when some Members of Parliament submitted to the House a Private Member’s Bill which criminalises homosexual practices, and which seeks to imprison offenders identified as lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders, queers and others (LGBTQ +).

Eight MPs, seven from the opposition National Democratic Congress, and one from the ruling New Patriotic Party initiated the Bill. The Honourables, from the NDC: lead sponsor Sam Nartey George; Della Adjoa Sowah; Emmanuel Bedzrah; Alhassan Suhuyini; Rita Naa Odoley Sowah; Helen Adjoa Ntoso; Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor; and, from the NPP, John Ntim Forjour.

However, on September 29, 2021, clearly alarmed by the harsh approach of the Bill, a group of concerned citizens, presented a Memorandum to Parliament calling for the outright rejection of what it described as “this dangerous bill”.

The group’s 30-page memo, read by human rights activist Akoto Ampaw at a press conference in Accra, on October 4, 2021, stated among other things:

“The LGBTQ+ Bill is a major step backwards for democracy, inclusiveness, the protection of minorities and the vulnerable in society, and of fundamental human rights in Ghana.

“The sponsors of the Bill have not provided, and cannot provide, a shred of evidence to demonstrate any cognizable harm that LGBTQ+ persons or their activities pose to society.

“It is simply not true that LGBTQ+ tendencies and inclinations are foreign to Ghanaian or African societies

Beyond “all the fanciful justifications, what is left is an Orwellian nightmare.
“We urge that the Bill ought, with respect, to be firmly rejected by Parliament.
“It has no place in our constitutional democratic republic,” the group emphasised.

Members of the group:

1. Mr. Akoto Ampaw
2. Professor Emerita Takyiwaa Manuh
3. Professor Kwame Karikari
4. Professor Kofi Gyimah-Boadi
5. Professor Audrey Gadzekpo
6. Dr. Rose Mensah-Kutin
7. Dr. Yao Graham
8. Professor Dzodzi Tsikata
9. Professor H. Kwasi Prempeh
10. Mr. Kwasi Adu Amankwah
11. Dr. Kojo Asante
12. Mr. Kingsley Ofei-Nkansah
13. Mr. Akunu Dake
14. Mr. Tetteh Hormeku-Ajei
15. Professor Raymond Atuguba
16. Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobby
17. Dr. Joseph Asunka
18. Nana Ama Agyemang Asante.

Evidently, the group of 18 did not take their action because they support same sex relationships. They were seeking support for the understanding that nobody needs to be sent to jail simply because they have a different sexual orientation.

Furthermore, and equally important, why should anybody face imprisonment because they know of someone’s different sexual orientation but failed to report him to the police?

Unfortunately, it appears that in Ghana the fear of same sex marriages happening in the country, or of being tagged an LGBTQ ally, has clouded the whole debate. Typically, when one defends LGBTQ rights, the response is “you must be one of them” or crude insults; even death threats.

But do I have to be a widow before I write in support of fair treatment for widows? Do I have to be physically challenged before I can write in support of disability friendly laws?

Worryingly, despite the Bill’s threat to journalism, which some of us have written about, not much has been heard from the media, not even from the Ghana Journalists Association. The voices of other Civil Society institutions too, have been drowned out by the Bill’s advocates.

Perhaps the virtual silence of the media community is because like many segments of the population, they see the Bill as a matter that concerns only gays, and thus have not paid attention to the danger. Clearly to them, as the Akan saying puts it, ‘etua wo yɔnko ho a, etua dua ho/mu’ (if it’s piercing your neighbour, it’s like it’s piercing a tree; it doesn’t affect you).

We may all find abhorrent and totally nauseating the very idea of same sex unions, but should that mean jail for them? Why should a journalist face possible imprisonment just for reporting on an issue to do with homosexuals?

Why should my profession as a journalist be suspended when it comes to LGBTQ matters? My profession confers on me the duty to speak on behalf of the voiceless or the threatened or the deprived, why should that make me a criminal before the law?

Homosexual, gay or lesbian lifestyle is certainly considered a taboo in the Ghanaian society, but is a taboo necessarily a crime? To me that is the crux of the matter.

The MPs who, reportedly, in private express reservations about the proposed excessive penalties, but have a different stance in public, should stand up now and be counted where it matters – in the Parliamentary Chamber and help abort them.

My hope and prayer is that Cardinal Turkson’s message will be taken into serious account by our Honourables as they work on final amendments to the Bill. The fear of same-sex unions should not lead to the proposed extreme punishments. Taboo, yes; but not to be criminalised!

Lawyer Ampaw (popularly known as ‘Sheey Sheey’), died on October 20 at the University of Ghana Medical Centre, Accra, after a period of ill health. His funeral takes place in Accra on Friday, December 15, 2023.

A partner in the law firm of President Nana Akufo-Addo, Lawyer Ampaw’s reputation as a renowned lawyer rose even higher when he led the legal team which represented the New Patriotic Party in the Election Petition of 2020.

His courage and advocacy leadership in support of the rights of people of a different sexual orientation, cemented his stature as a lawyer of courage, integrity and compassion.

(Ahead of Mr Ampaw’s funeral on December 15, a memorial evening will be held in his honour at the National Theatre in Accra, on Wednesday December 13.)