Parliament of Ghana Approves Bill Criminalizing LGBT Identity

Parliament of Ghana has approved a bill that would criminalize identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. The legislation now awaits ratification by President John Dramani Mahama. The proposed law goes further than the country’s existing colonial-era ban on same-sex relationships. 

The bill approved by Parliament actually implements a tiered penalty system. While engaging in same-sex intercourse or public displays of affection carries up to 3 years of imprisonment, the bill imposes far harsher penalties of 6 to 10 years in prison for anyone who promotes, sponsors, advocates, or distributes material related to LGBT activities.

It also requires citizens to report suspected prohibited acts to the police, extending enforcement into private relationships and personal associations. Allies face potential punishment as well, although legal, media, and healthcare professionals are exempted when reporting on LGBT issues or providing services.

Reverend John Ntim Fordjour, the member of parliament who sponsored the bill, stated that the measure protects Ghanaian family and cultural values. He described the new provisions as making existing laws more robust, encompassing, and stringent in addressing LGBT practices. Rights groups have criticized the bill, warning that it endangers the lives of LGBT people by encouraging surveillance and denunciation among citizens.

President Mahama now holds the decisive power to sign the bill into law or allow it to stall. Since taking office, Maham has faced pressure from religious leaders to strengthen anti-gay measures. He has publicly affirmed his belief that only two genders exist, man and woman, and that marriage is between a man and a woman. This latest parliamentary vote revives a similar 2024 bill that passed but ultimately did not become law after the previous president withheld his signature amid legal challenges.

The Ghanaian Ministry of Finance explicitly warned that enacting this legislation jeopardizes billions of dollars in international financing, including an estimated $3.8 billion in World Bank funding over five to six years.

This development in Ghana reflects a wider pattern across Africa. Roughly 31 to 32 out of the continent’s 54 countries currently criminalize homosexuality, with penalties and enforcement varying significantly by region. 

Northern Africa maintains strict laws often rooted in morality provisions and Islamic traditions, where countries such as Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, and others penalise same-sex acts through fines, imprisonment, or broader public order statutes. 

Western Africa shows a recent trend toward tighter restrictions, including Ghana’s identity-focused bill and Senegal's National Assembly adopted an amendment to Article 319 of its Penal Code on March 11, 2026 (signed into law on March 27, 2026), which officially doubled the maximum penalty for consensual same-sex acts to 10 years imprisonment and criminalized promotion and funding. Parts of Nigeria, particularly northern states governed by Sharia law, impose the death penalty for same-sex acts.

Eastern Africa includes some of the harshest measures. Uganda’s 2023 law allows the death penalty for aggravated cases, while several neighbouring countries retain long prison terms. Central Africa largely follows colonial-era criminalization with active enforcement in places such as Cameroon. 

In contrast, Southern Africa stands apart as the most progressive region. South Africa prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation in its constitution, recognizes same-sex marriage, and provides strong legal protections. Several other southern nations, including Botswana, Mozambique, and Angola, have decriminalized same-sex acts in recent years.

Islam, particularly through the application of Sharia law in Muslim-majority countries or regions, remains a significant driver of the most severe penalties, including corporal and capital punishment in jurisdictions such as Mauritania, northern Nigeria, and parts of Somalia. While the death penalty for consensual same-sex acts exists or is possible in a limited number of places, actual executions remain relatively rare.

This growing tendency toward stricter criminalization and broader enforcement across much of the continent signals a difficult and somber future for LGBT communities in Africa. Individuals face heightened risks of legal persecution, social ostracism, family rejection, and violence. These conditions are expected to accelerate migration from African countries to Western nations, where legal safeguards and greater social acceptance provide safer environments for those seeking refuge.

As Ghana’s bill awaits President Mahama’s decision, the outcome will further shape both the domestic landscape and the broader regional trajectory on LGBT rights.

Source: DPN, News outlets, Staff, AI, May 29, 2026

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
— Oscar Wilde

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