Ghana’s Vice President and ruling New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) presidential candidate for the 2024 election, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has firmly restated his opposition to LGBTQI+ acts and same-sex marriage amid an ongoing national debate on the issue.
His open declaration comes at a time when President Nana Akufo-Addo has refused to sign into law a bill criminalizing LGBTQ activities, saying he will wait for a Supreme Court ruling before making a decision.
Speaking at Eid celebrations in Kumasi on Wednesday, Bawumia framed his stance against homosexuality as an uncompromising position rooted in Islamic faith, Ghanaian cultural values, and the positions of the country’s major religious traditions.
He cited a verse from the Quran that he says “emphatically forbids LGBTQI+ acts and describes them as acts that transgress beyond the bounds or the limits of nature.”
“First of all, it is important to note that our cultural and societal norms and values as Ghanaians frown on the practice of homosexuality,” Bawumia told the Eid gathering. “Furthermore, as a Muslim, my view on this matter aligns with the position of my religious faith.”
The Vice President, who is seeking the presidency in the December 2024 polls, cited a verse from the Quran that he says “emphatically forbids LGBTQI+ acts and describes them as acts that transgress beyond the bounds or the limits of nature.”
Bawumia left no ambiguity about his personal beliefs, stating “My faith is very strictly against the practice of homosexuality, no ‘ifs’ or ‘buts’. No shades of grey.”
He added that same-sex relationships are clearly rejected by the doctrines of Islam and Christianity, Ghana’s two major religious traditions. “All the major religious traditions in Ghana are opposed to this practice and I stand opposed to it now and I will stand opposed to it as President, Insha Allah,” Bawumia declared.
Ghanaian lawmakers unanimously passed legislation in 2023 that would intensify a crackdown on the rights of LGBTQ people and those accused of promoting lesbian, gay or other minority sexual or gender identities.
However, the bill’s potential passage into law could jeopardize $3.8 billion in World Bank financing for Ghana over the next five to six years and derail a $3 billion IMF loan package, according to the finance ministry.
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer John Dramani Mahama has attributed President Akufo-Addo’s alleged reluctance to assent to the anti-LGBTQI+ bill to the country’s over-dependence on foreign aid.
But the Vice President’s comments thrust the contentious LGBTQI+ issue into the national spotlight as the election campaign kicks into high gear.
His hardline rhetoric aligns him with some other conservative religious and political figures across Africa who have dug in against expanding LGBTQI+ rights. However, his stance could alienate more progressive voters who view it as discriminatory.
Same-sex relationships remain illegal in Ghana under a colonial-era law, though there have been recent efforts by advocacy groups to decriminalize it.
As the election campaign intensifies, the LGBTQI+ issue is emerging as a polarizing topic that could sway the outcome in this deeply religious nation caught between modernizing cultural norms and steadfast traditional values.
