Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu, who is a renowned human rights lawyer, has explained why he has chosen to stay away from the debate on the attempts to criminalise homosexual activities and their promotion in the country.

Speaking in a recent interview on TV3, Martin Kpebu pointed out that he is not at the centre of the debate because he knows some personalities in the country who are homosexuals, including top lawyers, who have chosen to be silent.

He said that if the people who engage in gay activities are not willing to show their faces, he is also not willing to put his reputation on the line in their defence.

“I've represented LGBTQ people, I've represented them over the years. I'm a lawye, the fact that a person is LGBTQ doesn't mean that he doesn't have rights. Even the last time, there was a big party in Accra some two, three years ago. Me and a lot of my colleagues in the law firm, we joined.

“I've not been very vocal in this debate, because I've been consistent from day one that I know some of them say they are scared, etc… they don't want to pay the price for stigma, etc. So they've chosen to be quiet, then I said, ‘Ah, now if you're the one in the situation, you don't want to pay any price, then I can't also grind my credibility to ashes’,” he said.

Kpebu reiterated that there are LGBT people, some of whom he said he is friends with, who are unwilling to show themselves and would not get the needed support.

He added that if they come out, the people of Ghana might have some compassion for them.

“I keep saying there are some of them privately we know who are very successful lawyers, very successful. At that age in life, you are not willing to show your face as a poster child, when you show your face you are likely to invoke compassion, etcetera,” he said.

The Parliament of Ghana, on Friday, May 29, 2026, passed the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, popularly known as the anti-gay bill.

This is the second time the bill has been passed by the House. The bill was first passed in 2024, but it was not acted upon by then-President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo before the expiration of the 8th Parliament.

It now requires the assent of President John Dramani Mahama to become a law that criminalises homosexual activities.

If the bill becomes law, it would prohibit sexual intercourse between persons of the same sex or an animal. Additionally, it would also outlaw marriage between people of the same sex or with an animal or an object.

It would also forbid people from holding themselves out as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, queer, pansexual, ally, or non-binary, among others.

Persons found guilty of the acts above are liable to imprisonment of up to 3 years.

The Crimes and the Jail Terms: Details of new anti-gay bill passed by Parliament

BAI

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