More than 100 African civil society organisations have joined forces to urge Ghanaian President John Mahama to send the country’s recently passed anti-LGBTQ+ bill back to Parliament for a more transparent and democratic process.
Campaigning under the banner #BackToSender, the coalition warned that the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025 was rushed through Parliament without adequate scrutiny, public accountability or meaningful democratic participation.
If signed into law, the bill would further criminalise identifying as LGBTQ+ or as an ally, with prison sentences of up to three years. It would also require citizens to report suspected LGBTQ+ people to authorities.
The publication or distribution of materials advocating for LGBTQ+ equality or affirmation could carry prison sentences of up to 10 years. The bill would also disband organisations supporting LGBTQ+ rights and ban LGBTQ+ people from adopting children.
Only 32 MPs present for vote
The bill, described by critics as one of the harshest anti-LGBTQ+ laws on the continent, passed on 29 May through a voice vote with only 32 lawmakers reportedly present in Ghana’s 276-seat Parliament.
In a joint statement issued from Accra, the coalition said Ghana had moved “one of the most consequential pieces of social legislation in its recent history from introduction to passage without the deliberative record being available to the public it governs.”
The groups argued that the absence of objections during the parliamentary sitting did not amount to democratic legitimacy.
“Ghana’s Parliament exists to carry the weight of deliberation on behalf of 33 million people,” the statement read. “That obligation does not dissolve because 244 elected members were absent and no one said anything at the time.”
Public health concerns remain
Activists also raised concerns about the bill’s likely impact on healthcare access for LGBTQ+ people, even though the legislation now exempts healthcare workers, lawyers and journalists from being legally required to report LGBTQ+ people.
The coalition warned that fear and stigma alone could deter people from seeking HIV treatment and other medical care.
Referring to similar legislation enacted in Senegal earlier this year, the statement noted that HIV treatment consultations reportedly dropped by more than 25% within a month.
“A patient deciding whether to walk into a clinic does not consult a legal framework,” the organisations said. “They make a calculation in seconds, and the question is whether the risk of being identified, correctly or not, as LGBTQ+ outweighs their need for care.”
South African activists join the call
South African organisation Embrace Diversity Movement joined the appeal, drawing parallels between Ghana’s situation and South Africa’s own apartheid history.
“As a South African organisation rooted in the values of our Constitution, we know what happens when laws are made without the people,” EDM said. “We lived it under apartheid. We will not watch in silence as another African nation normalises democratic shortcuts to legislate hate.”
The organisation also criticised the influence of conservative foreign groups on anti-LGBTQ+ legislation across Africa, including Ghana’s bill.
“Ghana does not need US-based evangelical groups like Family Watch International, CitizenGO, and Alliance Defending Freedom to write its laws,” EDM stated. “That is not family values. That is exported prejudice.”
Rightify Ghana condemns bill
Ghanaian advocacy group Rightify Ghana also condemned the bill’s passage, warning that it could fuel violence, blackmail, family rejection and arbitrary arrests targeting LGBTQI+ people.
“We respectfully call on President John Dramani Mahama not to assent to this bill,” the organisation said. “As President of all Ghanaians, he has a constitutional duty to protect the rights, freedoms, dignity, and wellbeing of every citizen.”
Rightify Ghana noted that Mahama has previously said LGBTQ+ issues were “not the most important issue we face as a nation”. The group argued that lawmakers should instead be focused on economic hardship, healthcare, education and unemployment.
Mahama signals possible review
Speaking during a visit to the United Kingdom on Monday, President Mahama acknowledged procedural and legal concerns around the bill’s passage, including questions about quorum requirements.
Mahama said the legislation, which began as a private member’s bill rather than government legislation, would be reviewed by the Attorney General and legal advisers before any presidential assent.
“So we’ll look at it and make sure that everything is in order before the president is advised to assent,” Mahama said, adding that if concerns emerged, the bill could be returned to Parliament.
“And so there’s still quite a while to go before that bill becomes law,” he added.
Mahama previously said in 2025 that he would sign the bill if Parliament passed it.
The #BackToSender coalition said Africa is watching Ghana closely and urged the country to uphold the democratic principles for which it has long been respected across the continent.
