News:
June 1, 2026
Ghana’s Minority caucus in Parliament is demanding that the 2024 version of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill be sent to President John Dramani Mahama for assent, arguing that the newly passed 2026 bill has been stripped of its original force.
At a press conference addressed by Rev. Ntim Fordjor, one of the bill’s sponsors, the Minority claimed the Majority side introduced 31 new clauses and deleted several “weightier” provisions, weakening the legislation’s ability to curb LGBTQ+ activities.
“The exemptions given to some categories of persons put them in a position to promote LGBTQ+ activities without any repercussion,” Fordjor said, adding that the new clauses were allegedly smuggled into the bill without the committee’s knowledge.
The Minority further argued that President Mahama had previously promised Ghanaians he would assent to the 2024 version, acknowledging at the time that no such bill had been forwarded to former President Nana Akufo-Addo.
What changed in the bill
Parliament has since considered 31 amendments involving deletions, insertions, substitutions, and entire new clauses. According to a comparative review, a broad provision against subverting family values from the earlier bill is no longer retained in the same form. Some criminal classifications have also changed, with provisions previously carrying misdemeanour language—and even second-degree felony classifications for certain premises—now treated differently.
“That is not a minor correction,” Fordjor said. “It goes to the force, weight and legal character of the bill.”
The Minority stressed they are not arguing against Parliament’s right to amend legislation. Instead, they highlighted a contradiction: the same public that was told “sign it now” is now being told “amend it first.”
“The same public that was told President Akufo-Addo had no good reason to exercise caution is now seeing that the bill was not beyond further legislative attention,” Fordjor said. “So we ask again: what changed?”
Ghanamps.com