Claims that the Supreme Court purposefully postponed the legal challenges against the Human and Sexual Rights and Family Values measure, or the anti-gay measure, have been refuted.
The court’s Registrar and a judge on the High Court, Justice Ellen Ofer-Ayeh, blamed the delays on the parties’ inability to finish the necessary legal procedures.
Justice Ofer-Ayeh clarified at a news conference on Monday, October 7, 2024, that neither the Attorney General (A-G) nor Parliament had filed their defense by the deadline, and that none of the parties had submitted the memorandum of problems.
Since then, Parliament has asked for more time to present its defense, and a hearing has been set for October 15–17, 2024.
This occurs in the aftermath of yesterday, October 8, 2024, a protest march organized by Ningo-Prampram Member of Parliament Sam George.
The purpose of the march was to deliver a petition expressing discontent with the perceived sluggish development of the court cases to the A-G and the Chief Justice.
Ghana’s anti-gay bill has been a divisive topic since President Nana Akufo-Addo declared he would not take any action on the measure until the Supreme Court gave its approval.
There has been much discussion about the bill, which increases prison terms and applies them not only to same-sex relationships but also to anyone who identifies as LGBTQ+, supports LGBTQ+ individuals, or works to recognize their human rights.
The measure has drawn criticism from Human Rights Watch, which claims that it violates Ghana’s commitments regarding human rights.
The approval of the measure, according to Rasha Younes, the organization’s interim head of LGBT rights, will “take persecution of sexual and gender minorities and their allies even further.”
The law has far-reaching consequences; Ghana’s Ministry of Finance has warned that it might jeopardize $3.8 billion in World Bank funds and probably derail a $3 billion IMF bailout program that was agreed upon in 2023.
Source: newsthemegh.com