Setback in Ghana: Supreme Court upholds law criminalising same-sex relations

Ghana’s highest court has upheld a decades-old law that criminalises gay sex, delivering a setback for LGBTQ+ rights in the West African country.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday, July 24, dismissed a lawsuit challenging sections of Ghana’s Criminal Code that prohibit “unnatural carnal knowledge,” as reported by Reuters.

The law, which has been in place since 1960, imposes a potential three-year prison sentence for same-sex sexual acts.

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According to ‘Yahoo! News’, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, leading the seven-member panel, announced that the court would provide detailed reasons for the ruling at a later date.

This ruling comes as Ghana awaits another court decision on whether to implement even harsher penalties against LGBTQ+ individuals. In February, the country's parliament passed a controversial anti-LGBTQ+ bill, which seeks to increase sentences and criminalise identifying as LGBTQ+ or advocating for LGBTQ+ rights.

Human rights groups have condemned the bill as one of the harshest anti-LGBTQ+ laws in Africa. Amnesty International has warned that it poses “significant threats to fundamental rights and freedoms”.

The Supreme Court has delayed deciding whether the new bill should be sent to President Nana Akufo-Addo for approval, stating that it must first assess the constitutionality of the legislation.

Law lecturer Prince Obiri-Korang had petitioned the court in 2021 to annul parts of the existing criminal code, arguing that they violated constitutional rights to privacy. However, the justices rejected this challenge.

Currently, only 22 of 54 African nations allow homosexuality, whereas three countries—Nigeria, Mauritania, and Somalia—impose the death penalty for gay sex.

The article titled "Ghana’s Supreme Court upholds law criminalising same-sex relations" originally appeared on Attitude.

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