Parliament will not be deterred by legal actions – Ayariga on Anti-gay bill

A member of the Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of Parliament, Mahama Ayariga, has expressed that Parliament will not be deterred by legal actions in its efforts to pass the Promotion of Proper Sexual Human Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, commonly known as the Anti-LGBT bill.

This comes as the Supreme Court is being petitioned to impose sanctions on the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, for allowing the house to proceed with a debate on the bill despite pending legal actions.

Dr. Amanda Odoi, one of the individuals who have sued the Speaker of Parliament and the Attorney General over the Anti-LGBT bill, argues that the Speaker has shown disregard and contempt for court processes.

She asserts that the Speaker’s actions violate the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana and warrant sanctions for contempt, in the public interest and to uphold the dignity of the Court.

Dr. Odoi claims that the Speaker’s conduct in allowing Parliament to proceed with the bill’s Second Reading, despite the pending lawsuit and related interlocutory injunction application, demonstrates a disregard for the authority of the Court and undermines public confidence in the judicial system.

In response to the lawsuit, Mahama Ayariga, the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, has stated that he hasn’t paid much attention to it, as he believes it is unlikely to succeed in the Supreme Court. He deems the content of the lawsuit to be flawed.

“I haven’t paid attention to it because I took the view that it is not going to see the light of day in the Supreme Court.”