Former Chief Executive Officer of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Henry Kwabena Kokofu has sided with those calling on the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to sign the anti-LGBTQ+ bill.
Parliament, on Tuesday, February 27, passed the bill which is aimed at prohibiting all activities of the LGBTQ+ community.
The bill criminalizes the promotion, advocacy and acts of homosexuality in the country.
Offenders will face a jail term of 6 months to 5 years.
But the international community has spoken against the bill and called on the President not to assent to the bill; countries like the United States and Germany have condemned the bill.
However, pressure mounts on the President to sign the bill and responding to the calls, the President, in a statement dated March 4, gave an impression of dilly-dallying in assenting to the bill.
“I think it will serve little purpose to go, at this stage, into the details of the origin of this proposed law, which is yet to reach my desk. But, suffice it to say, that I have learnt that, today, a challenge has been mounted at the Supreme Court by a concerned citizen to the constitutionality of the proposed legislation,” he said.
He added; “In the circumstances, it would be, as well, for all of us to hold our hands, and await the decision of the Court before any action is taken. The operation of the institutions of the Ghanaian state will determine the future trajectory of the rule of law and human rights compliance in our country.”
Giving his thoughts on the controversies, Henry Kokofu was of the view that the President is caught between the rock and a hard place stating whatever decision he takes will affect the country in one way or another.
Nonetheless, to him, the President should heed the calls to legitimize the bill.
"I like the pressure coming from those saying the President should sign. For me, I am for it," he said in his submissions on Peace FM's morning show "Kokrokoo".
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