Anti-Gay Bill: This Is 'Scary' . . . Let's Have a Dispassionate Conversation - Sefa Kayi

Kwami Sefa Kayi, widely called "Chairman General", has shared his opinions on the passage of the anti-LGBTQ+ bill.

The bill was passed in Parliament on Wednesday, February 27 by a unanimous decision.

It awaits President Nana Addo's assent to become law and when effected, every person caught in the act of homosexuality or promoting the activities of the LGBTQ+ society will face a jail term of 6 months to 5 years. 

But the bill has received a backlash as the international community and some Ghanaians have condemned it, calling on the President not to assent to it.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk describes it as “deeply harmful” stressing “the bill broadens the scope of criminal sanctions against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transexual and queer people – simply for being who they are – and threatens criminal penalties against perceived allies of LGBTQ+ people”.

He called for the “bill not to become law. I urge the Ghanaian Government to take steps to ensure everyone can live free from violence, stigma and discrimination, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Consensual same-sex conduct should never be criminalized”.

US ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Evelyn Palmer also says the bill undermines human rights.

“I am saddened because some of the smartest, most creative, most decent people I know are LGBT. The bill Parliament passed takes away not only their basic human rights but those of all Ghanaians because it undermines their constitutional rights to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of the press. It will be bad for public order and public health. If enacted, it will also hurt Ghana’s international reputation and Ghana’s economy,” she wrote on the embassy’s X (formerly twitter) page.

Sharing his thoughts on the bill during his morning show "Kokrokoo" aired on Accra-based radio station, Peace FM, Mr. Sefa Kayi described the adamant position of the framers of the bill as "scary".

To him, there should rather be a dispassionate conversation concerning the bill and its impact on the homosexual community.

"I think we should have a dispassionate conversation. We shouldn't let because we attend church or this person is like this or that, we rash to do it. Because ask yourself, what if your son says he is gay?...As a parent, what do you do?", he commented.