Members of Ghana's LGBT community and activists are waiting to see whether the West African country's president will sign into law a bill that would further restrict their rights and likely worsen the persecution many face.
Gay sex is already punishable by up to three years in prison, but the new law would also impose a prison sentence of up to five years for the promotion or support of LGBT rights, making it one of the harshest of its kind in Africa. Getting a job or accommodation are challenges, and those who identify openly as LGBT are ostracized. Hostility and attacks are commonplace, although few such incidents make it to the courts.
Parliament unanimously passed the bill in February, but President Nana Akufo-Addo has delayed signing it with his office citing two pending challenges at the supreme court. The new law could "lead to further gratuitous violence against LGBT people and their allies," Human Rights Watch warned in March, urging Akufo-Addo to veto it.
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