ACCRA (Reuters) – Ghana’s Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a six-decade-old law criminalising gay sex as the west African country awaits another court decision on whether to introduce even harsher penalties in a new bill.
The seven-member panel dismissed a lawsuit challenging the law, with presiding Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie saying reasons for the decision will be given later.
The Ghanaian Criminal Code of 1960 prohibits same-sex sexual acts, calling them “unnatural carnal knowledge.” Offenders face up to three years in jail.
The sentence will be lengthened if the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill passed in February takes effect, and the government would intensify a crackdown on those accused of promoting lesbian, gay or other minority sexual or gender identities.
The court earlier this month postponed ruling on whether the bill should be transmitted to President Nana Akufo-Addo for approval, saying it should first be determined if the bill is constitutional.
Law lecturer, Prince Obiri-Korang, had asked the apex court in 2021 to annul aspects of the 1960 code criminalising same sex sexual acts, saying it breached the constitutional right to privacy.
(Reporting by Maxwell Akalaare Adombila; Editing by Anait Miridzhanian and Richard Chang)
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