President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, has criticized the imprisonment penalties outlined in the newly passed anti-LGBTQI bill. He believes that incarcerating individuals based on their sexual orientation will not resolve the issue but rather exacerbate it.

Speaking on Accra-based Citi FM, Rev. Gyamfi reiterated the church’s endorsement of the bill but called for a reconsideration of the punitive measures. He emphasized the importance of implementing more rehabilitative and corrective measures.

“We think that in the case of this particular law and the way it is being implemented, being placed in prison as the punishment that they have chosen, it is not going to solve the problem.

Because you see if you round up same-sex people and you know our prisons, they are going to end up in the same room and what is going to prevent them from going through these activities in the prison?

“And you are not going to put them there forever because they are going to be there for three months to six months. And then they practice this and come out as more experts at it than when you sent them there. Then you release them back into society. So, what is going to happen?

“That is why we were concerned about a punishment that will correct them, that will reform them. So if the government is going this way or if the parliament is going this way that is why we are suggesting that in the prison there, they should add more of the corrective and reformative measures,” he stated.

On Wednesday, February 28, 2024, Parliament approved the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values bill, popularly known as the anti-LGBTQ bill.

This law prohibits LGBTQ activities, including their promotion, advocacy, and financial support.

Those convicted could be sentenced to imprisonment for six months to three years, while those promoting or sponsoring such activities could face three to five years in jail.