President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of Ghana has warned that same-sex marriage will not be legalised in Ghana during his tenure as president of the West African country.
Speaking at the installation of the second Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Ghana, Ashanti Mampong Diocese on Saturday, President Akufo Addo said: “So long as I remain the leader of the country, homosexual marriages will not be legalised.”
“I have said it before, and let me stress it again, that it will not be under the Presidency of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that same-sex marriage will be legalised in Ghana.
“It will never happen in my time as President… Let me repeat, it will never happen in my time as President,” local media reports on Sunday quoted President Akufo Addo as saying.
The reports said that the declaration by the Ghanaian leader followed recent calls by the civil society organisations, religious bodies and traditional authorities on the Presidency to clarify the position of the government on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) movement in Ghana after the formal opening of an office by the LGBTQ community in Accra.
Meanwhile, Ghana’s Inspector General of Police, Mr. James Oppong-Boanuh, has warned that persons arrested for sodomy would be prosecuted according to the laws of the country.
Mr. Oppong-Boanuh also advised the citizens not to take the law into their own hands.
GIK/APA