An anti-LGBTQ+ bill before Parliament is seekimg to criminalize same sex relations
A private legal practitioner, Kofi Bekai, has opined that the law that prohibits sexual intercourse in an unnatural manner does not stretch to couples (married men and women) who engage in anal sex consensually.
He was responding to the definition of what unnatural carnal knowledge was and how it is applied in law and what offenders could face if caught.
The lawyer speaking on Nyankonton Mu Nsem on Rainbow Radio 87.9 Fm said under section 104(2) of Act 29, unnatural carnal knowledge is defined as sexual intercourse with a person in an unnatural manner or, with an animal.
The definition he noted leaves room for judicial interpretation of the offense.
In the case of Banousin v The Republic[4], Dotse JSC interpreted carnal knowledge as: “It is the female sex organs called the vulva and the vagina that are normally penetrated into during sexual act which can qualify to be carnal knowledge under section 98 and 99 of Act 29.”
But the lawyer, in his explanation, stated that if a married man and his wife consent to have sex unnaturally, the law is not stretched to that point to prohibit it.
According to him, the law gives no room for that, and as a couple, if that is how they want to have their sex then that should be it.
Lawyer Bekai in answering the question burst into loud laughter and followed with his answer saying: ”this an overstretch. Your question says a married couple. This is about a married couple. If the two agreed, then there is nothing wrong with it. I don’t think the law makes toom for this situation,” he added.
Meanwhile, he said women who have their spouses forcing them to engage in anal sex and are not happy about it could seek legal redress since they have not consented to it.
He also explained that the activities of gay sex and all other forms of the LGBTQI+ community is unlawful, and persons who engage in anal sex are liable to a misdemeanour and could face a jail term.
The lawyer said issues of gayism is an affront to the laws, customs, culture and religious beliefs of Ghana.
He said in the law, we have a duty for citizens to report persons who engage in that to the Police if there is any evidence to support that.
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