Accra, Ghana- A fellow with CDD- Ghana Prof. Takyewaa Manu has disclosed that President Nana Akufo Addo has given his blessing to their advocacy against approval of pending private members bill in Parliament that seeks to criminalize LGBTQ+ activities including advocating for their human right to be protected.
Professor Manu revealed this while addressing the media in Kumasi while reviewing the proposed “ family values and proper sexual orientation bill’’ in Kumasi to educate the media the threat the bill poses on their work when approved and adopted into law.
She urged the media to pay particular attention to the bill because when adopted into law the bill will replace the criminal liable law which was repealed by the former President John Kuffour’s administration.
She said ”The president once invited us and he told us he supports our advocacy against the bill. The president wont pen down his signature on a private bill that will cost the country financially article 108 is clear on that’’ she lamented.
She explained that “We at CDD-Ghana are not against Ghanaian values and norms, our focus rather is for the public to respect individuals’ rights based on their sexual orientation. We have put our lives at risk through this advocacy. Sometimes you meet stakeholders and the people don’t want to even hear you because of the impression they have created about us. In Ghana we have our norms and morals but has it changed insets among others family members’’.
She stressed the bill at its current state is not fit for purpose because it is very discriminatory and even a threat to freedom of speech which if passed at its current state.
“This unthinkable bill will imprison a lot of Journalists for which reason the media must take careful interest. Already the law has not been passed but there’s a lot of misinformation. We are not also doing this training for the media but we are also actively engaging the police to also use their uniform to protect the rights of homosexuals in various communities. We have lawyers to fight and defend the rights of the homosexuals’’ he stressed.
She assured the CDD and its partners will challenge the bill if passed by Parliament in Court because the constitution of Ghana is against the bill because the article 108 is clear on that.
“The bill is discriminatory. We have done clause analysis on the bill and we are only waiting for the bill to be passed for us to take the needed action in court’’. he assured.
