Supreme Court to deliver final judgment on anti-LGBTQ Bill after elections

The Supreme Court has scheduled Wednesday, 18 December 2024, as the date to deliver its final judgment on two injunction applications challenging the constitutionality of the anti-LGBTQ bill. The controversial bill, named the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill 2024, was passed by Parliament on 28 February 2024.

However, progress on the bill has stalled following two separate injunction applications filed by broadcast journalist Richard Dela Sky and gender activist Dr Amanda Odoi. These legal challenges have led President Akufo-Addo to withhold his assent to the bill.

On Tuesday, 19 November 2024, a seven-member panel of the Supreme Court accepted all the issues and statements presented by the parties in both cases. In Richard Sky’s case, the Court directed his lawyers, led by Paa Kwasi Abaidoo, to file an updated statement by 22 November. The Respondents—Parliament of Ghana, represented by Thaddeus Sory, and the Attorney General—must submit their response by 27 November 2024. The Court has indicated that a final ruling on the bill will be delivered on 18 December.

The seven-member panel, presided over by Justice Avril Lovelace-Johnson, includes Justice Prof. Henrietta Mensah Bonsu, Justice Barbara Ackah-Yensu, Justice Samuel Asiedu, Justice Ernest Gaewu, Justice Yaw Darko Asare, and Justice Richard Adjei Frimpong.

On 7 March 2024, Dr Amanda Odoi filed an interlocutory injunction to prevent Speaker Alban Bagbin, the Clerk of Parliament, or any designated individual from transmitting the bill to President Akufo-Addo for assent. Meanwhile, Richard Dela Sky’s suit, filed on 5 March, challenges the constitutionality of the bill, arguing that it “raises profound concerns regarding the potential infringement of the fundamental human rights and freedoms guaranteed to every Ghanaian by the Constitution.”

The Court’s announcement comes shortly after the Catholic Bishops’ Conference issued a strong appeal to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to approve the anti-LGBTQ bill.

In a recent communiqué signed by the President of the Conference, Most Reverend Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, the group reiterated its unwavering support for the bill, stating that it “reflects our commitment to the sanctity of the family and the upholding of traditional values rooted in our cultural and Christian heritage.”

The Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill 2024 seeks to ban LGBT-related activities and criminalise the promotion, advocacy, and funding of such activities. The bill prescribes prison terms of six months to three years for individuals involved in these activities, while promoters and sponsors could face sentences ranging from three to five years.

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