• Ghana’s proposed anti-LGBTQ+ law continues to generate reactions
• Madina MP Sosu’s pronouncements on the bill has been described by a former MP as ‘foolishly courageous’
• Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has openly backed the bill and says the house will pass it ASAP
Former Member of Parliament for Kumbungu, Ras Mubarak, has slammed Madina lawmaker Francis-Xavier Sosu labelling him ‘foolishly courageous,’ over his stance on same-sex relationships.
Mubarak was reacting to GhanaWeb story that reported Sosu’s comments about how a strong opposition of Speaker Alban Bagbin to the Lesbians, Gays, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer, LGBTQ+ community could best de described as his private stance and not that of the lawmaking chamber as a whole.
The former MP stressed that most of Sosu’s constituents in the Madina constituency were opposed to the values that he seeks to defend.
“The Madina MP is courageous, but foolishly courageous. He’s in Parlaiment representing the people of Madina. If he’s minded, majority of the people he represents are very opposed to the things he seeks to defend.
“His is a lost cause and quite sad he’s not putting his constituents first. And for the record, I had called Sosu on Friday and Saturday to see if what had been attributed to him in the last 3days is true, but got no response,” Mubarak wrote.
What Sosu said about Bagbin’s LGBTQ+ posture
Asked about Bagbin’s open support for the anti-LGBTQ+ bill by a TV3 reporter last Friday in Parliament, Sosu responded: “I think that we must understand that the speaker is a man of his own.
“He is an astute lawyer, lawmaker before rising to become a speaker, and so absolutely I respect his views, I respect what he stands for as far as this piece of legislation is concerned.
“However, the speaker alone does not pass laws, the speaker relies on the representation of the people and that is why we are all here. I believe what the speaker said are his personal views and how he feels about this piece of legislation,” he added.
He is however quick to admit that the support of the speaker gives the bill some gravitas: “Of course what he feels … is going to either promote what we call the popular sentiment of Ghanaians when it comes to issues of gay rights.”
About the draft anti-LGBTQ+ bill
The 36-page draft document is a Private Member’s Bill titled: “The Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values, Bill 2021.”
It is led by the Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram, Sam George, and seven (7) other MPs.
Currently, it is at the draft stage and will be laid before the house and subsequently expected to be referred to the appropriate committee for consideration.
Sam George spent the better part of Saturday (July 23) on social media defending the need for the bill which he insists is a necessity in preserving the moral and cultural values of Ghanaians in general.
