Stay away from us - MPs tell gay lobbyists

Pusiga MP, Hajia Laadi Ayamba, has warned gay campaigners not to lobby her or any legislator to push gay bills through Ghana’s parliament.

Ayamba said on the floor of parliament on Tuesday, 22 May 2018 that homosexuality “is horrible, not acceptable and I think that we in this House should be the first people to come out to put it right to anybody that is coming out with whatever they want to call it that we will not take it, we represent the people of Ghana, we represent our constituents [and] we would not have been here if men were marrying men or women marrying women”.

According to her, individuals who are gay, cannot be hiding their identities and rather be pushing MPs to legalise a practice that Ghanaian society abhors.

“You cannot make yourself [to] become something you are not supposed to be and then you think that people should rather come out and make you accepted when you already know that you are not accepted.

“Mr Speaker, let us urge our educational institutions to talk against this particular issue,” she emphasized.

Not too long ago, U.K. Prime Minister, Theresa May, urged Commonwealth nations including Ghana to overhaul “outdated” anti-gay laws, saying the U.K. "deeply regrets" its role in the legacy of violence and discrimination.

Ms. May drew cheers and applause when she told delegates at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) that "nobody should face discrimination or persecution because of who they are or who they love".

Campaigners have urged Ms. May to intervene over the colonial-era legislation affecting millions of LGBTQI people, as same-sex relations are still illegal in 36 Commonwealth countries.

Ms. May further indicated that the U.K. was ready to help Commonwealth nations to repeal anti-gay laws and embrace homosexuality.

Ghana's Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, also said recently that he will resign if a pro-gay bill is brought to parliament during his tenure.

“If anybody should bring such a thing to parliament and I have to preside over that, I'd rather resign than subscribe to this delusion,” Prof Oquaye told Paul Adom-Otchere in an interview on Metro TV's Good Evening Ghana current affairs programme on Thursday, 10 May 2018.