Ghana Bans Gay Conference

Ghana’s government has banned a conference for gay men and lesbians due to take place there later this month. From an article on BBC News’s website:

Information Minister Kwamena Bartels said as homosexuality was illegal in Ghana the gathering was not permitted. ”Government does not condone any such activity which violently offends the culture, morality and heritage of the entire people of Ghana,” he said. He warned that disciplinary action would be taken if anyone was found to have contravened the law.

The BBC’s Kwaku Sakyi-Addo in the capital, Accra, says the conference was reportedly scheduled to take place on Monday at the Accra International Conference Centre and at a venue in the city of Koforidua. It has been difficult to establish precisely who was organising the conference, and whether it had received any prior approval from any official quarter, he says. But in an unequivocal statement, Mr Bartels laid out the government’s position. ”Government would like to make it absolutely clear that it shall not permit the proposed conference anywhere in Ghana. Unnatural carnal knowledge is illegal under our criminal code. Homosexuality, lesbianism and bestiality are therefore offences under the laws of Ghana,” he said.

A few days ago, I wrote about the great news that South Africa will be the first African nation to legalise same-sex marriage. Today the news from Africa is back to its normal gloom.