Reports broke out that, a young vibrant man has gone into hiding for fear of being killed for protecting his friend.
Middle-aged Joseph Baah from Akim Akroso, has been running from a group that threatened him to bring forth the men he protected from them.
Mr. Baah’s story, shared by a human rights activist on social media where we captured the post, stated that seven months back, he had admitted his friend to prevent a mob from attacking him.
Read the full story below;
My name is Joseph Baah, I come from Akim Akroso in the eastern region part of Ghana. I am 39 years old. I live and work in Accra, the capital city of Ghana as a relocation Consultant and a sole owner of a real estate agency called Laglobeth Properties. I am a father of three kids. (2 girls and a boy).
About seven months ago my childhood friend with which I admitted into house relative to mob action on him because it was alleged that he is gay. But He confess to me that he is gay, and it is his preference, and nobody can take that away from him.
I understood his feelings, so I encouraged him to go ahead with whatever pleases his heart and feelings. Unluckily for us where I live was about 60 percent of Christians and Muslims dominated area.
One Sunday afternoon, after our lunch we were home watching a movie and then to my utmost shock my whole house was attacked and pelted with stones, shit bomb, etc.! etc.!! Just because I am protecting gay friend.
My crime was that I am harboring a gay person which is not acceptable in our community and the country, so they ought to put the fear of God into me.
The saddest aspect of it was that they were my neighbors around both old and young chanting that my whole family should be burnt down just because I am keeping someone who’s gay in my house.
The saddest aspect of it was that I called in the police to come to our rescue and the arrival of the police gave us hope. After the police managed to dispatch the crowd, I moved my kids to my sister’s place.
The government is not protecting, it is shocking that the police who should be protecting Ghanaians even raided a peaceful meeting Some LGBT Group, arrested the participants, and subjected them to three weeks in harsh detention conditions on a charge that never should have been brought in the first place. In last July, eight members of parliament introduced the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021, which would proscribe and criminalize any advocacy of LGBT identity.
If the bill before parliament becomes law, it will no doubt intensify abuse against LGBT people.
However, I had a Mexican visa on my passport so quickly got a ticket and fly to Cancún. I had a friend who gave me a contact to help me cross the Mexican border to the USA since my only hope for protection is here (USA).
But the Ghanaian laws seems not to bother at all about the plight of the LGBTQ. I know LGBTQ+ issues are scary and dangerous to people related to, but I could not let my friend be killed and this has put me in a very dangerous situation.
My own family and friends rejected me because I am keeping gay in my house.
Life in Ghana is a living hell for the LGBT group and whoever affiliates to this group in Ghana.
Ghana has a mixed record on its treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. It criminalizes “unnatural carnal knowledge” in section 104 (1) (b) of its Criminal Offences Act, which the authorities interpret as “penile penetration of anything other than a vagina.” However, the law is a colonial legacy that is rarely, if ever, enforced, and unlike several of its neighbors, Ghana has not taken steps in recent years to stiffen penalties against consensual same-se.x conduct or to expressly criminalize sexual relations between women. At least two government agencies, the Ghana Police Force and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), have reached out to LGBT people and taken proactive steps, including through providing human rights training workshops to help ensure their protection. Nevertheless, LGBT people are very frequently victims of physical violence and psychological abuse, extortion and discrimination in many different aspects of daily life, because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.