Africa

Director of LGBTQ rights group in Ghana kidnapped, held for ransom

Rightify Ghana said incident took place Aug. 20

Published

4 years ago

August 27, 2022

(Public domain photo by Jorono from Pixabay)

An LGBTQ and intersex rights group in Ghana on Saturday said a group of men kidnapped its director and held him for ransom before they released him.

Rightify Ghana in a series of tweets said a group of seven “homophobic men” in the country’s Ashanti Region on Aug. 20 held its director “hostage.”

“He was beaten and threatened with a knife by the men who demanded for a ransom to (be) paid before releasing him,” said Rightify Ghana.

Rightify Ghana said their director “was taken hostage” at around 11:20 a.m. on Aug. 20 “while doing a follow-up on an alleged abuse case which turned out to be a trap by a notorious violent and organized anti-gay group.” Rightify Ghana on Twitter said one of the men who kidnapped their director held a knife to his throat and told him that “we will kill you and bury you here and no one would know.”

“While attacking him, it emerged that they knew his work as an activist, asked questions about his organization and even brought a screenshot of a recent interview he did,” said Rightify Ghana. “While doing this, they demanded a ransom to (be) paid and only released him after they had withdrawn a large sum of money.”

Rightify Ghana said “a lot of information about the homophobic group was gathered during this attack, as they also detailed their operations, locations and their threat to their primary target, the LGBTQI+ community, and the general public.” Rightify Ghana further noted the group “also shared how other groups target queer men in alleged murder for money ritual.”

Rightify Ghana said it has contacted the Ghana Police Service about the incident.

🚨 TRIGGER WARNING

At this time last week, the Director of @RightifyGhana was being held hostage by seven homophobic men at an area in the Ashanti region of Ghana.

He was beaten and threatened with a knife by the men who demanded for a ransom to paid before releasing him.

1/7 pic.twitter.com/eCO3j4AwEL

— Rightify Ghana (@RightifyGhana) August 27, 2022

The State Department’s 2021 human rights report notes “extortion attempts” against LGBTQ and intersex people have taken place in Ghana.

Ghana is among the dozens of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain criminalized.

A bill that seeks to criminalize LGBTQ and intersex identity and allyship in Ghana was introduced in the country’s Parliament last year. The State Department in May 2021 urged the Ghanaian government to protect LGBTQ and intersex rights after police arrested 21 activists in the city of Ho.

A man who now lives in Massachusetts on Saturday told the Washington Blade that he fled Ghana after he was “caught with my boyfriend” who later died by suicide. The man said he has asked for asylum in the U.S.

“We were blackmailed and harassed (until) it became too much and my boyfriend committed suicide,” the man told the Blade. “I tried committing suicide myself and was treated by a discreet gay doctor who hid me and bought tickets for me to flee to the United States.”

“What happened to the director (of Rightify Ghana) is common in Ghana right now,” he added.

Related Topics:featured Ghana Rightify Ghana

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Cameroon

Gay Cameroonian immigrant will be freed from ICE detention — for now

Ludovic Mbock’s homeland criminalizes homosexuality

Published

8 hours ago

March 13, 2026

Baltimore Banner

Competitive gamer Ludovic Mbock, left, with his sister, Diane Sohna. (Photo courtesy of Diane Sohna)

By ANTONIO PLANAS | An immigration judge on Friday issued a $4,000 bond for a Cameroonian immigrant and regional gaming champion held in federal immigration detention for the past three weeks.

The ruling will allow Ludovic Mbock, of Oxon Hill, to return to Maryland from a Georgia facility this weekend, his family and attorney said.

“Realistically, by tomorrow. Hopefully, by today,” said Mbock’s attorney, Edward Neufville. “We are one step closer to getting Ludovic justice.”

The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

Senegal

Senegalese lawmakers approve bill to further criminalize homosexuality

A dozen men arrested in February for ‘unnatural acts’

Published

1 day ago

March 12, 2026

Michael K. Lavers

(Image by xileodesigns/Bigstock)

Senegalese lawmakers on Wednesday approved a bill that would further criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations in the country.

The Associated Press notes the measure that Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko introduced in February would increase the penalty for anyone convicted of engaging in consensual same-sex sexual relations from one to five years in prison to five to 10 years. The AP further indicates the bill would prohibit the “promotion” or “financing” of homosexuality in the country.

The bill passed with near unanimous support. Only three of 135 MPs abstained.

President Bassirou Diomaye Faye is expected to sign the measure.

The National Assembly in 2021 rejected a bill that would have further criminalized homosexuality in Senegal.

Senegalese police last month arrested a dozen men and charged them with committing “unnatural acts.”

Volker Türk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, in a statement described the bill as “deeply worrying.”

“It flies in the face of the sacrosanct human rights we all enjoy: the rights to respect, dignity, privacy, equality and freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly,” he said.

Türk also urged Faye not to sign the bill.

“I urge the president not to sign this harmful law into effect, and for authorities to repeal the existing discriminatory law and to uphold the human rights of all in Senegal, without discrimination,” said Türk.

Uganda

Ugandan activist named Charles F. Kettering Foundation fellow

Clare Byarugaba founded PFLAG-Uganda

Published

1 week ago

March 6, 2026

Michael K. Lavers

Clare Byarugaba (Photo via X)

The Charles F. Kettering Foundation has named a prominent Ugandan LGBTQ activist as one of its 2026 fellows.

Clare Byarugaba, founder of PFLAG-Uganda, is one of the foundation’s five 2026 Global Fellows.

Byarugaba, among other things, has been a vocal critic of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act. Byarugaba in 2024 met with Pope Francis — who criticized criminalization laws during his papacy — at the Vatican.

The foundation on its website says it “is dedicated to bringing research and people together to make the promise of democracy real for everyone, everywhere.”

“Clare is the kind of hero who rushes toward the emergency to help,” said PFLAG CEO Brian K. Bond in a Feb. 27 statement to the Washington Blade. “She founded PFLAG-Uganda as the country pushed to criminalize homosexuality and those who support LGBTQ+ people. Yet, she never hesitated in her courage, telling us that families wanted to organize to keep their LGBTQ+ loved ones safe, and PFLAG was the way to do it. Clare Byarugaba not only deserves this honor, but she will use her compassion and experience to teach the world about LGBTQ+ advocacy as a Kettering Global Fellow.”