Parliament Of Ghana Approves Bill Criminalising LGBTQ+ Identity
parliament of ghana approved a bill that would criminalise identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer, and the measure now goes to President John Dramani Mahama for ratification. The legislation also adds a duty to report prohibited acts to police, placing the bill’s reach well beyond private relationships.
John Dramani Mahama's Decision
The new bill would punish identifying as LGBTQ+ with up to three years' imprisonment, a sharper step than the country’s existing colonial-era ban on same-sex relationships. It also extends the threat of punishment to anyone who identifies as an ally, while exempting legal, media and healthcare professionals who report on LGBTQ+ issues or provide treatment and other services.
Reverend John Ntim Fordjour, the Ghanaian MP who sponsored the bill, said after the vote that it protected Ghanaian family and cultural values. Fordjour also said the new bans would make existing laws “more robust, more encompassing, and more stringent in dealing with the practices of LGBTQI.”
Human Rights Watch in Accra
Human Rights Watch urged the constitutional and legal affairs committee in Accra to abandon the bill, warning that it placed LGBTQ+ peoples' lives at risk and was “encouraging citizens to surveil and denounce one another.” The organization’s warning focuses on the bill’s reporting duty, which can bring private accusations into police action.
President Mahama still has the power to stop the legislation. After he took office last year, religious leaders pressed him to strengthen anti-gay laws, and Mahama said: “I believe in the principles and values that only two genders exist – man and woman. And that marriage is between a man and a woman.”
Ghana's 2024 Bill
The latest vote follows a similar bill passed in Ghana in 2024 that did not become law after former president Akufo-Addo failed to sign it amid legal challenges. Ghana’s lawmakers have now moved the same fight back to the presidency, with ratification the final step before the bill can take effect.
That path sits alongside a wider regional shift. Senegal’s parliament approved similar legislation in March, with a maximum prison term of 10 years for sexual acts by same-sex couples and a criminal ban on promoting homosexuality. Uganda introduced a death penalty for certain same-sex acts in 2023.
For people in Ghana who identify as LGBTQ+, the immediate question is whether Mahama will sign the bill or let it stall again, as Akufo-Addo did in 2024. Until that decision comes, the vote has changed the political threshold but not yet the legal one.
