If signed into law, Ghana’s regressive new bill will result in anyone who identifies as LGBTQ+ being jailed for three years
One day in late February, as the seasons were about to tip into spring, Campbell Addy was preparing to launch a five-year business plan to support Ghanaian creatives. The British-Ghanaian creative, who has become one of fashion’s most in-demand photographers after capturing the likes of Beyoncé, Kendall Jenner and Tyler, the Creator, suddenly thought: “I can’t do this.”
Earlier that day, Ghana’s Parliament had passed an anti-LGBTQ+ bill that – if signed into law by President Nana Afuko-Addo – would result in anyone who identifies as LGBTQ+ being jailed for three years. Those caught “promoting” LGBTQ+ activity, including allies and advocates, would face five years behind bars. Just last week, Ghana’s Supreme Court upheld a colonial-era law that criminalises gay sex.
For those who are part of Ghana’s buoyant creative scene, the rising conservatism in the country is encroaching on previously enjoyed freedoms. “The animosity I’d face is staggering, so it stopped my whole plan,” says Addy. “I also knew that if I invested in creating a space [for creatives], I wouldn’t feel comfortable putting other Ghanaians at risk.”
In January, Freedom Skatepark, a community skatepark in Accra, was forced to shut down amidst accusations of being a hub for the gay community. It was a community centre that provided free masterclasses, WiFi, and a recording studio for Accra’s youth, built with the support of Ghanaian-American designer Virgil Abloh. “They were trying to say that the skatepark was being used to ‘breed homosexuals’, and I was like, what are you talking about?” says Accra-based DJ and Oroko Radio resident Anna Leonie.
Though shocking, the passing of the regressive new bill isn’t entirely surprising. Fewer than 10 per cent of Ghanaians are tolerant towards people in same-sex relationships, according to Afro Barometer data. Anti-LGBTQ+ content online was already gaining traction in the country in the five years before the bill, according to a report by reproductive justice organisation Ipas, as well as reports of physical violence against LGBTQ+ people. “My creative friends don’t know if they haven’t got a job because they’re gay, or if they’re not good enough,” says Addy. “We’re having to hide so much of ourselves in language: like, oh, this is my best friend, when it’s actually your partner you’re talking about. It’s a cultural smudging of the self.”
In criminalising queer identity, the bill “will ban creativity in its most basic form,” according to Alex Kofi Donkor, the director of the advocacy organisation LGBT+ Rights Ghana. “Most of the creativity emanating from Africa is coming from the queer community,” he said, including popular slang used by mainstream Ghanaian celebrities, entertainers, and influencers.
The bill would also impose a “duty to report,” which encourages individuals to inform the police or other authorities about people they suspect to be LGBTQ+. Ghana’s own finance ministry warned that the bill could risk $3.8 billion in World Bank financing, as the bank froze funding to Uganda in 2023 after the country passed an anti-gay law.
For some Ghanaian creatives, the bill feels like a cultural backslide. “These people in government are just trying to make sure that we’re not free,” says Leonie. “It’s really upsetting because so many other countries in the world are moving forward and it feels like we’re moving backwards.”
Ghanaian writer and creative director Richmond Ekow Barnes feels similarly. “International organisations have highlighted the potential negative consequences of certain policies on our development – it can also hinder the creative economy,” he says.
This all comes at a time when Ghana’s creative industry is flourishing. Each year, thousands of diasporans from the UK, US, and beyond flock to Ghana for ‘Detty December,’ an annual, month-long cultural phenomenon full of music, partying, and little sleep. However, Leonie believes that not enough diasporans are paying attention to what’s happening. “People outside of Ghana are just seeing Detty December,” she said. “I don’t love that everyone is making it look like Ghana is such a hot spot [when] we have so many issues in this country.”
“It’s really upsetting because so many other countries in the world are moving forward and it feels like we’re moving backwards” – Anna Leonie
Issues like the country’s proposed anti-LGBTQ+ bill have become a point of contention for tourists. Some have expressed on social media that they will not be attending Detty December anymore, which could contribute to a decline in the marketability of the country’s nightlife and arts scene. And people have reason to be concerned: it is one of the broadest anti-LGBTQ+ bills in Africa. If passed, it could result in LGBTQ+ associations being forced to close, allies being imprisoned, and sex toys being outlawed.
Gender presentation is already being more closely scrutinised in the country. Addy recounted a story of his father’s friend being beaten up for being perceived as effeminate, even though he is not LGBTQ+. When Leonie recently wore baggy clothes to meet up with her friends, they told her she “could get arrested just looking like that.”
The bill, and the wider discourse around sexuality in Ghana, is grounded in the popular notion that being LGBTQ+ is “un-African.” However, history shows that non-heterosexual marriage traditions existed in pre-colonial Ghana. “Ghanaians are blindly following the influence of far-right US and Russian evangelical groups, who are very binary. But Africans have never been binary,” Donkor says.
Ghanaian Man Texas Kadir Moro Takes a Stand Against Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill
Yesterday, Texas Kadir Moro bravely led a one-man protest against the anti-LGBTQ+ Bill in Ghana, advocating against the imprisonment of LGBTQ individuals. Holding up powerful placards and delivering a… pic.twitter.com/wLsYnA7gT5
— Rightify Ghana (@RightifyGhana) April 16, 2024
According to Addy, the bill also compounds existing challenges that Ghanaian creatives face, including limited access to visas and travel opportunities, which he explores in his magazine Niijournal. “There’s already a defeatist attitude, just for being in Ghana and being a creative,” Addy says. “Adding the bill on top, it’s going to breed a whole generation of people who are taught to hide themselves in their work.”
But Addy says that hope can be found in documenting the struggle. “It’s the Black archive. I’m not afraid to document the bad and the good,” he says. “The next generation won’t make the same mistakes. They’ll pick up [Niijournal], they’ll pick up this article, and they’ll see that people fought against it.”
Addy said he was inspired to take action after seeing a Ghanaian man, Texas Kadir Moro, march through the streets of Accra in a one-man protest against the bill. Moro, a human rights activist, strode down busy main roads dressed in bright pink shorts, barefoot, and alone, carrying a large wooden cross adorned with protest messages. One read: Ghana is a democratic country, not a theocratic one. “It just takes one of us. That’s where I get my resolve from,” Addy says. “Until my work doesn’t affect one person, I will continue.”
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