Catholic Bishop chastises Akufo-Addo for “inconsistent” remarks about LGBTQ+ comments

The Catholic Bishop of Konongo-Mampong, Most Reverend Joseph Osei-Bonsu, has slammed President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over what he claims is the first gentleman’s inconsistent remarks on LGBTQI+ issues.

He rebuked the President in an open letter.

Most. Rev. Osei-Bonsu chronicled the president’s comments starting with his 2017 Aljazeera interview where he indicated that the President said there was no “sufficiently strong coalition” to cause a change in Ghana’s laws regarding LGBTQI issues.

He said the president should have pointed out to the journalist that “homosexuality indeed remains a criminal offence in Ghana, making reference to Section 104 of the Ghanaian Criminal Code of 1960 which criminalises consensual same-sex sexual acts between persons of the same gender.”

Most. Rev. Osei-Bonsu also scolded the president for his recent comments on the topic during the visit of the American Vice President, Kamala Harris.

Kamala Harris pressed on Ghana to respect the rights of homosexuals to which President Akufo-Addo said his government has intervened and modified the “Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values 2021” bill.

Most. Rev. Osei-Bonsu wrote that the president must be able to point out to those pushing for the recognition of gay rights that “the rights of homosexuals as persons do not include the right of a man to marry a man or of a woman to marry a woman. We need to stress that LGBTQ+ activities are not part of what is described as fundamental human rights and cannot be included in the list of human rights.”