A co-sponsor of a new anti-LGBTQI+ bill in Ghana, Reverend John Ntim Fordjour, has accused individuals at the Presidency of deliberately delaying the bill’s progress in Parliament.
According to him, despite the Speaker of Parliament’s approval of the bill four months ago, it has yet to be gazetted, a step he claims should take just an hour.
Speaking to the media, he alleged that “unseen hands from Jubilee House” were obstructing the process. We will speak up. We are giving them one week. After that, we will begin to expose those who are succumbing to the whims and caprices of the Jubilee House,” he warned.
The bill, titled Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, is a private members’ bill co-sponsored by ten Members of Parliament, referred to as “a group of nine friends.”
It is a resubmission of the earlier anti-LGBTQI+ legislation passed by Parliament in 2024, which was later stalled by legal challenges and ultimately lapsed at the end of the previous parliamentary session.
Rev. Ntim Fordjour expressed disappointment over the lack of urgency to revive the bill, despite what he called “massive public support” and “President Mahama’s expressed desire” for such legislation.
He also condemned Ghana’s recent abstention from a United Nations Human Rights Council vote to renew the mandate of an independent expert on LGBTQI+ rights.
Describing the move as “shameful,” Rev. Ntim Fordjour criticized President John Dramani Mahama and Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa for what he said was a betrayal of Ghanaian values.
“Abstaining tells the world that the issue is not important to us or worse, that we are too afraid to take a stand. This is cowardice and possibly a sign that our leaders have been compromised by international financiers who promote LGBTQI+ ideologies.” he said.
The renewed legislative attempt comes amid intense national and international scrutiny.
Activists have previously labeled the anti-LGBTQI+ bill as draconian and discriminatory, while proponents argue it reflects Ghanaian cultural and moral values.
The bill is yet to be formally introduced in the Ninth Parliament, pending gazetting, a legal requirement before parliamentary deliberations can begin.
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