Ghana president pledges to sign repressive anti-LGBTQ bill
Bill calls for three years in prison for every LGBTQ person in Ghana
The LGBTQ rights advocacy group Rightify Ghana reports:
“President Mahama Pledges to Sign Anti-LGBTQ Bill If Passed by Parliament, Rejects Same-Sex Marriage and Transgender Rights
“President John Dramani Mahama has reaffirmed his administration’s opposition to same-sex marriage and transgender rights, stating that he would sign the controversial “Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill” – commonly known as the anti-LGBTQ bill – if it is passed by Parliament.
“His remarks, which drew applause from religious leaders, underscore a firm stance on traditional family values amid ongoing debates over LGBTQ+ rights in the country.
“Speaking during a courtesy visit by the Christian Council of Ghana to the Jubilee House [the presidential palace] on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, President Mahama outlined his government’s position: “But if you want, the position of my government [is that] marriage is between a man and a woman. A person’s gender is determined at birth. And then also, that the family is the foundation of our nation. That is our position.”
“The President addressed the status of a previous version of the bill, which was introduced in the 8th Parliament but never reached his predecessor, Nana Akufo-Addo, for assent. According to Mahama, the bill lapsed and expired following the dissolution of the 8th Parliament, as stipulated by Ghana’s Constitution.
“He [stated] that Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has expressed commitment to reintroduce the bill, allowing it to undergo the full legislative process anew. ”
Confusion in Parliament
Anti-LGBTQ members of parliament are confused about the bill’s current status.
They had said in March that they had refiled the bill but last month they noticed that it was not on Parliament’s official order of business.
“We thought that the bill had been passed [last year]” and was ready for the president to act on it this year, said Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga.
To make sure that Parliament will act on the bill, a group of bipartisan Members of Parliament said they would reintroduce it. The bill was to be laid before the House for its first reading on Oct. 21.
No LGBTQ person would be safe
If enacted without change from last year, the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill would theoretically lead to the imprisonment of more than 350,000 people, based on a 2011 survey in which 1 percent of Ghana’s population said they were gay or lesbian.
The bill calls for three years in prison for anyone who identifies as (“holds out as”) LGBTQ.
That would expand on Ghana’s current law that provides a three-year prison sentence for same-sex intimacy. The new bill would also add a three-year prison term for people who:
- Participate in gender-reassignment surgery;
- Enter into a same-sex marriage; or
- Attend a same-sex wedding.
It would impose prison sentences of up to 10 years on people who “promote” LGBTQ activity.
Ghana’s Human Rights Commission told Parliament it would encroach on the fundamental human right of association.
Davis Mac-Iyalla, the executive director of the Interfaith Diversity Network of West Africa (IDONWA), said the bill is unconstitutional, discriminatory and would place a financial burden on the nation by forcing it to imprison so many of Ghana’s citizens.
