AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER
ACTIVISTS and members of the LGBTQI+ community in Africa are calling for the release of 21 people who were arrested in Ghana during an LGBTQ+ conference.
Volta Police Command in Ghana arrested 21 LGBTQI+ activists in the suburb of Ho. The police said those who were arrested were partaking in an LGBTQI+ workshop at a recreational centre in Godokpui, in the suburb of Ho, in the country’s southeastern region.
The arrested are members of Rightify Ghana, an organisation that put together an event to train attendees on paralegal services for vulnerable groups, including documenting instances of abuse and how to provide better support as legal aides.
A representative of Rightify Ghana told UK’s The Guardian newspaper that members of the local press “teamed up with the police to storm the meeting location, started taking images, took their belongings, and arrested them.”
“Some LGBTQI members were gathering in the region for a conference aimed at championing their activities,” local police spokesman Sergeant Prince Dogbatse told Ghanian publications.
“We went to the conference grounds. We arrested 21 suspected LGBTQI members. Currently, the 21 arrestees, who mostly identify as women, remain in custody for “unlawful assembly.”
The arrestees were arraigned at the Ho Circuit Court after their arrest and charged with unlawful assembly. Justice Felix Dadzomor declined the bail application. The case has been adjourned to June 4, while suspects have been remanded in the custody of the regional police command.
Homosexuality is outlawed in Ghana. The country’s penal code prescribes between three and 25 years in prison for anyone found to be in a same-sex relationship.
Members of Ghana’s parliament have hinted at presenting a private motion bill to the House to clarify the country’s stance on LGBTIQ+, as disclosed by Member of Parliament for Ho West, Emmanuel Bedzrah at a 1-Day National Prayer Rally on LGBTQI+.
At the same rally held in Accra, Bedzrah told supporters that per previous discussions on the floor of Parliament, it was clear to him that “all Members of Parliament are against LGBTQI activities in the country.”
The LGBT Rights Ghana organisation, along with human rights advocates condemned both the arrests and the intention by the MPs to table the private motion bill.
“It’s been a week and our dear colleagues are still in custody for daring to organise. They are being unlawfully detained in Ho. This needs to stop. 21 Human Rights defenders and participants of a paralegal training remain in police custody #ReleaseThe21.”
Ghanian LGBTQ+ Rights organisation, The Alliance for Equality and Diversity (AfED) also criticised the arrests, calling the charge “frivolous and mischievous”.
“This arrest and detention is a clear incident of homophobia and an attempt by the Ghana Police Service to punish and abuse the rights of upright Ghanaians whose only interest is to protect the human rights of people who the police fail to protect — especially sexual minorities,” said Robert Akoto Amoafo, the president of AfED, in a statement posted to Twitter.
Outside of Ghana, celebrities and LGBT+ rights activists have been advocating for equality and collaboration.
Actor Idris Elba, supermodel Naomi Campbell and designer Virgil Abloh urged Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo in an open letter, in February, to work with LGBTQ community leaders.
However, Ghanaian locals criticised the open letter, according to CNN, with some saying having the opinion that same-sex relationships was in dissention with Ghanaian culture.