Advocacy groups in Ghana have welcomed the demise of a bill that would have further criminalized LGBTQ people and outlawed allyship.

President John Mahama on Jan. 14 said the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill that MP Sam George of Ningo-Prampram co-sponsored in 2021 was essentially dead. Mahama made the remarks to a delegation of bishops from the Ghana Catholic Bishop’s Conference.

“If we are teaching our values in schools, we wouldn’t need to pass a bill to enforce family values,” said Mahama. “More than just passing the Family Values Bill, we need to agree on a curriculum that instills these values in our children as they grow.”

The president also said that although MPs passed the bill last February, parliament dissolved before former President Nana Akufo-Ado, whose term ended earlier this month, signed it.

“I don’t know what the promoters of the bill intend to do, but I think we should have a conversation about it again,” said Mahama. “As far as I know, the bill did not get to the president. So, the convention is that all bills that are not assented to law before the expiration of the life of parliament, expire. So that bill effectively is dead.”

LGBT+ Rights Ghana Communications Director Berinyuy Burinyuy said the president’s remarks offer a glimmer of hope for LGBTQ Ghanaians who have long been subjected to systemic discrimination, fear, and violence.

“For many, the mere suggestion that LGBT+ issues could be addressed through education rather than criminalization represents a significant departure from the traditional legislative path championed by the bill’s proponents,” said Burinyuy. “This shift implies a possible opening for dialogue and a more inclusive approach, one that recognizes the need for respect and understanding of diverse sexual identities within Ghanaian society.”

Burinyuy, however, asked about how family values will be incorporated into the educational curriculum.

“Will the curriculum provide a comprehensive, nuanced understanding of human sexuality that respects diversity, or will it risk reinforcing discriminatory attitudes under the guise of cultural preservation?” said Burinyuy. “The fear, particularly among LGBT+ activists is that the emphasis on education could inadvertently foster homophobia in Ghanaian children. If the content is not carefully structured, it could perpetuate harmful stereotypes and deepen existing prejudices.”

“While Mahama may not yet be fully committing to a clear policy direction, his statement leaves open the possibility of a more balanced approach, one that allows for a national conversation on sexual rights without rushing into divisive legislation,” added Burinyuy.

We Are All Ghana said Mahama’s comments are a welcomed approach in addressing anti-LGBTQ sentiments and negative stereotyping.

“We need a holistic educational curriculum for our schools,” said We Are All Ghana. “The children at least deserve to know the truth. There is nothing worse than half baked information.”

Yaw Mensah, an LGBTQ activist, said Mahama is teaching Ghanaians to be tolerant of everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation.

“Mahama is indirectly saying LGBT persons are not Ghana’s problems. Let’s teach families values that accept and respect everyone. Ghanaian values should be tolerance, respect, honesty, hardworking, hospitality, and integrity,” said Mensah. “Those need to be taught and not the hate, discrimination, barbarism, greediness, and hypocrisy that we are seeing in many leaders which transcends into the young ones.”

George has yet to comment on Mensah’s comments about his bill.

Former Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama from the opposition National Democratic Congress has won Saturday’s general elections, defeating current Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia of the New Patriotic Party.

The NDC before the election had pledged its support for the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, which would further criminalize LGBTQ people and those who support them.

The bill, which MPs approved in February, has yet to be signed by outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo because of a ruling the Supreme Court is expected to issue on Dec. 18. Richard Dela Sky, a journalist and private lawyer, challenged the law in March.

The NDC, NPP and other parties used recognition of LGBTQ rights to persuade Ghanaians to vote for them. Mahama during a BBC interview last week said LGBTQ rights are against African culture and religious doctrine.

Berinyuy Hans Burinyuy, LGBT+ Rights Ghana’s director for communications, said homophobic attacks and public demonstrations increased during the campaign.

“The passage of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill into law will institutionalize State-sanctioned discrimination and violence against LGBTQ+ individuals, leaving little to no legal recourse for those affected,” said Burinyuy. “The climate of fear and uncertainty that has gripped Ghana’s LGBTQ+ community cannot be overstated.”

“While the political atmosphere remains hostile, there is still hope that the Supreme Court will rule in favor of human rights and constitutional protections,” added Burinyuy. “Should the court strike down the bill, it will be a significant victory for LGBTQ+ rights and a blow to the growing wave of homophobia that has swept the country.”

Awo Dufie, an intersex person and cross-dresser, said the LGBTQ community is going to be at increased risk under the NDC-led government because it supports anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.

“Mahama supported the anti-LGBT bill as well as the arrest and prosecution of human rights defenders,” noted Dufie. “Politicizing queer rights as a distraction actually started under Atta Mills (the-late president of Ghana) and the NDC government in 2011, and it was an NDC MP (Sam George) who furthered this in 2021 vocalizing support for the anti-LGBT bill.”

Dufie added Ghanaians “voted out a worse corrupt government who had no respect for human rights, and brought in a former corrupt president who has also promised to not respect human rights.”

Activism Ghana, another LGBTQ rights group, said the attacks against LGBTQ Ghanaians are a series of political ploys designed to win votes as opposed to accelerating development.

“Hate the gays, win the votes, and when they win and fail to deliver development and prosperity, they scapegoat the gays to take away attention from real problems,” said Activism Ghana.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday congratulated Mahama’s election, and noted Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang will become the country’s first female vice president.

“The United States commends the Electoral Commission, its hundreds of thousands of poll workers, civil society, and the country’s security forces, who helped ensure a peaceful and transparent process,” said Blinken in a statement. “We also applaud Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia for his gracious acceptance of the results.”

Mahama’s inauguration will take place on Jan. 7.

Advocacy groups continue to urge Akufo-Addo to veto the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill or amend sections that further criminalize LGBTQ people and allies.

A Catholic cardinal in Ghana has reiterated his support for LGBTQ people.

Peter Turkson has been vocal against the criminalization of LGBTQ people, advocates, and organizations. He is also among the few African cardinals who have supported the Fiducia Supplicans (Supplicating Trust) document that Pope Francis released last year.

The document offers a narrow set of conditions under which a priest or deacon can offer a blessing to a same-sex couple or unmarried heterosexual couples.

In an interview with TV3 News, a Ghanaian television station, Turkson expressed his grave concerns over the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill currently before the Supreme Court.

The bill, among other things, would further criminalize LGBTQ people and make advocacy on their behalf illegal. 

Lawmakers in February approved the measure. President Nana Akufo-Addo has said he will not sign it until the Supreme Court issues its ruling.

Turkson said homosexuality is not new to Ghanaian culture and those who identify as LGBTQ should be treated like any other person.

“Who controls how one is born? And if one is born this way, how does it in itself constitute a crime? You criminalize them for what,” he asked.

Turkson also said there should be respect for diverse views, urging against the criminalization of identity.

Father Peter Knox from the Jesuit Institute in South Africa said there is an almost what he described as a neurotic denial of the fact there are African people who are attracted to people of the same sex.

“The fact that people of the same sex enter into a permanent, loving, supportive, stable, fruitful relationships is beyond the imagination of many Africans. The very notion runs contrary to what many theologians and pastors claim is African culture,” said Knox.

Knox also questioned why homosexuality is regarded as a Western concept, noting South Africa offers asylum to many LGBTQ Africans who are fleeing persecution from their countries of origin.

“For decades South Africa has recognized the refugee status of people who are persecuted or whose lives are endangered because of their sexual orientation,” he noted. “For those who do not try to make it to Europe, South Africa is often a second-best destination.” 

Knox noted one South African parish has a support group for LGBTQ parishioners.

“It is noteworthy that none of the members of the group are so-called Europeans. They all come from African countries,” he said. “One also hopes for more prophetic protection of a severely marginalized group on this continent.” 

Cardinal Maurice Piat of Mauritius, along with Turkson, is the only other of the continent’s 22 Catholic cardinals who has spoken publicly in support of LGBTQ people. Non-Catholic officials in Africa have largely dismissed Francis’s document.

Cardinal Stephen Ameyu, archbishop of Juba in South Sudan, has said the church’s role is to respond to sinners with mercy. He questioned the blessings of same-sex marriages last December during a press conference at a Christmas event.

“The church takes mercy first. That’s why sometimes we are concerned about people who are criminals, people who have killed people. We turn to them in mercy,” said Ameyu. “So, the state of life that somebody lives does not exclude one from the concern of the church. Be merciful to others provide services to others who need the services, and the church can do a lot in order to convince people in their state of sins to come back to the church and be converted.”

Francis in 2023 visited South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.