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Ghanaian
Daily Statesman jumps to defend homosexuals
04 Sept 2006-
Ghana- Private legal practitioner and editor of the Daily Statesman has
jumped to the defence of homosexuals in the country, questioning the
basis of the decision to bar their planned conference in Ghana. So far,
the lone crusader for the gays and lesbians apart from the practitioners
themselves, Gabby Otchere Darko says the relevant laws under reference,
Act 29 of the Criminal
Code talks about unnatural sexual intercourse linking to carnal
knowledge between two people, and questions what exactly can be defined
as unlawful or unnatural. The Statesman editor shocked many last Friday
when he opined on Drive Talk that the homosexuals should be allowed to
hold their conference.
In a follow-up
interview, Mr. Otchere Darko asked Ghanaians to be a little more
tolerant; asking rhetorically whether the law as it exists now is
enforceable.
“Is the law
enforceable? What about lesbians? Technically, sex is when there is
penetration so how does the law affect lesbians because it is impossible
for a woman to penetrate another woman; in this case, how effective is
the constitution concerning this? If a woman decides to use a vibrator
in a sexual act or her husband decides to use it on his wife, does that
make it illegal?”
Continuing with his
chain of rhetorical questions, the Statesman editor asked Ghanaians who
determines what constitutes a moral act that is legal and whether we
should be determining what two consenting adults do in their bedroom?
There has been a lot
of public outcry since news broke that some gays and lesbians are
planning to hold an annual conference in Ghana but were facing
challenges with securing a venue. Government moved in to bar any such
conference, a move that met the approval of a generality of Ghanaians.
But Mr. Otchere Darko
says the ban is tantamount to barring a debate on provisions of the
constitution or any other law for that matter. According to him, the
organization of a conference by homosexuals does not mean they’ll be
engaging in sexual activities during the conference.
He further argued that
we appear to be shifting away from the liberal way of thinking to
violating the principle of freedom of speech and _expression. He added
that placing a ban does not mean that the issue will be solved.
‘The fact that I
personally do not approve of a man having sex with another man does not
mean that I should not have an objective mind’ he said.
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