‘Lesbian wedding’ arrestees freed; Ghana’s anti-LGBTQ furor continues

Ghana police have freed the people they arrested last weekend at a party that police believed was a “lesbian wedding”. Meanwhile, homophobic campaigns against Ghana’s LGBTQ citizens continue. The Ghana-based African Equality Centre (AEC) said that the latest report from Kwahu Obomeng and nearby Mpraeso is that 14 people were arrested in Kwahu Obomeng over the weekend rather than the 22 initially reported. The AEC reported that the 14 arrestees were held by Mpraeso District Police until they paid for their release. In a telephone interview with Rainbow Radio 87.5 FM, Isaac Boamah Darko, convenor of Journalists Against LGBTQI, said the 14 people’s release from police custody was like freeing an “armed robber”. Darko’s advocacy group is one of several urging Parliament to pass an anti-LGBTQ bill. Darko said work is under way on a new law to criminalise LGBTQI+ people. Current Ghanaian laws prohibits sexual activity between members of the same sex, but does not outlaw people simply for being an LGBTQI person. He predicted that the new law would be enacted by the end of 2021.