Ghana’s laws do not criminalize LGBTQI – Former Amnesty International boss

General news for Sunday February 28, 2021

Source: 3 News

2021-02-28

Former Amnesty International National Director Robert Akoto Amoafo has taken a heavy toll on people who stoke what he describes as feelings of hatred against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTSI ), insisting that nowhere in Ghana’s statutes is this orientation criminalized.

“So when we talk about lesbians, who are lesbians? Do people understand who lesbians are? Do people understand who transgender is? And what is the definition of these people in our laws? ” He asked.

“There is nowhere in the law where lesbians are criminalized.”

Mr. Amoako Akoto contributed to discussions on LGBTQI rights in Ghana on The Key Points on TV3 / 3FM on Saturday February 27th.

It follows a public outcry after the group ordered office space in Accra. The office has since been closed.

Speaking on the matter, the former national director of Amnesty International said there was nowhere an LGBTQI person causing harm to another person through their practice.

For him, it is time for Ghana to review its laws because most of them are imbued with a “colonial” orientation, a situation well outdated during the period.

“People have to understand that unnatural carnal knowledge only criminalizes activity of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and, most importantly, to understand, if you look at how the law is, it talks about unnatural carnal knowledge and when you explain it within the framework of the law, it talks about the penetration of the sexual organ.

But section 104 (2) of Ghana’s Criminal Offenses Act defines “unnatural fleshly knowledge” as “sexual intercourse with a person in an unnatural way or with an animal”.

It criminalizes the act.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) James Oppong Boanuh has indicated that when it comes to the laws of Ghana the act is a crime and they will apply the laws as in the statutes.

“Currently there are laws on this issue and we in the police will enforce the law with regard to the limits of the law and therefore as long as these laws remain in our statutes we will enforce it,” he said. he said in the central region on Friday February 26.

“If the Ghanaian people somehow decide that we are going to legitimize it and it is taken off our books, we agree, but until that is done, we will ensure that that the laws are respected. ”