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Ghana’s parliament approved one of Africa’s most repressive anti-LGBTQ bills on Friday, sending the contentious legislation to President John Mahama for final ratification.
The new framework, known as the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, introduces severe legal penalties for sexual minorities and their allies.
Lawmakers previously passed an identical version of the bill unanimously in 2024, but former president Nana Akufo-Addo refused to sign it into law.
Under Ghana’s constitution, any draft legislation left unsigned by the president automatically lapses at the end of a parliamentary term, requiring the new parliament to re-examine it from scratch.
The version passed on Friday retains the core punitive measures of the original 2024 bill but introduces specific exemptions for legal, media, and healthcare professionals.
Under the approved guidelines, individuals convicted of engaging in same-sex relations face up to three years of imprisonment.
Furthermore, the law cracks down on advocacy and allyship, imposing prison sentences ranging from three to five years for anyone who promotes, sponsors, or provides intentional support to LGBT+ activities.
A colonial-era British law already prohibits same-sex relationships in Ghana—a conservative, deeply religious country with a dominant Christian majority—though authorities have not prosecuted anyone under those specific grounds to date.
The rapid advancement of the legislation has drawn swift condemnation from international organisations and human rights groups.
Activists warn that the draconian law will strip citizens of fundamental rights to privacy, health, and expression, while President Mahama now faces immense political pressure from religious leaders to sign the bill into law.
