GhanaWeb Factcheck: Promoter, not practitioner – Did Ursula overreact?

Claim:The Member of Parliament for Ablekuma West, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, accuses her colleague MP, Murtala Mohammed of Tamale Central, of describing her as an LGBTQ+ practitioner.

Verdict

False

Explanation

The proceedings of the Parliament of Ghana on Wednesday, July 5, 2023, was one that was expected to attract some great interest, particularly because on the day, the anti-gay bill was to be debated on the floor of the House.

What however was not fully anticipated was how heated those debates and discussions would go.

And that became the case when there was a prolonged moment on the floor when the Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, was called out for something he said.

Although he was not the one on the floor at the time, Murtala Mohammed loud voice was heard across the Chamber of Parliament when he uttered some words that instantly incensed the Member of Parliament for Ablekuma, and Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful.

The interjection by Murtala caused the Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Andrews Asiamah, to appeal to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP to withdraw what he said although it was not said through the microphone.

But the Tamale Central legislator refused to do so, insisting that he did not say what he was being accused of having said.

So, what exactly was the accusation from Ursula, and what was the defence from Murtala?

According to Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, her other colleague on the other side of the House had described her as ‘an LGBQT+ practitioner’ and which made her extremely unhappy.

"Mr. Speaker, I sat here and repeatedly heard Murtala refer to me as an LGBTQ+ practitioner, to the hearing of everyone in this House. I sat here and repeatedly heard him. When you haven't seen me have sex with your wife, daughter, or mother, you sit there and refer to me in those terms," she said.

In defence, Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed stressed that what he said was not what he was being accused of having said.

He further stated that if it was the wish of the Speaker of Parliament that he withdraws, then the same should be done with Ursula because of how she also described him.

"Mr. Speaker, if the Hansard comes and whatever you said I said is in it... Mr. Speaker, if you think I said something, the honorable minister also said something. What did she say? She said I am mad," he explained.

Verification

In all of these, it has seemed like something was missing in what the two sides of the heated verbal fights have been claiming.

GhanaWeb has critically analysed the contents of the video of the proceedings of parliament and particularly, the moments when the two MPs made such accusations.

The video, posted by the Parliament of Ghana on its social media pages, paints a better picture of what Murtala Mohammed uttered in the background, interrupting the comments of MP for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor.

“You are a promoter of LGBTQ; you are a promoter,” Murtala Mohammed is heard shouting in the background.

Conclusion

GhanaWeb’s independent checks and analysis of what transpired on the floor of parliament, vis-à-vis the accusations and defences that happened during the debate of the anti-gay bill can conclude that what the Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, was being accused of having said were not accurate.

Having been accused of calling Ursula Owusu-Ekuful ‘an LGBTQ practitioner,’ just as the Ablekuma West MP claimed, is false.

The word used by the Tamale Central MP was ‘promoter.’

GhanaWeb, therefore, concludes that while there is truth in the fact that Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed uttered some words that provoked Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, during the debate of the House on the anti-gay bill, it is FALSE that he described her as a practitioner of LGBTQ+ activities.

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