Tag: homosexuality

Now Cameroon

Arrests of gays are taking place in the West African nation of Cameroon.

YAOUNDE — Cameroon authorities have charged four people aged 17 to 46 with homosexuality and remanded them in custody, their lawyer told AFP on Saturday.
“All four were remanded in custody yesterday (Friday) after having been charged the same day,” said Michel Togue.
Two of them were also charged with “indecent behaviour involving a minor”.
The lawyer said one of the accused “said he was arrested at his home on August 10” in the capital Yaounde after “somebody turned up and asked to see a ‘gay film’ in his company”.
It was “obviously a set-up because police arrived to arrest him as they were watching the film”, he added.
The three others were arrested when they visited him after his arrest.
Police were not available Saturday to comment on the arrests which take the number of those detained in less than a month to seven.
Homosexuality being outlawed in Cameroon, those arrested risk five years in prison.
Gay rights activists say the government is set to tighten anti-gay legislation further.

 

American Anti-gay Campaign in Africa: Family Watch International

Late yesterday, Religion Dispatches posted my lengthy report on the anti-gay work of Family Watch International and the World Congress of Families.
I became curious about FWI when I saw that they had distanced their organization from Martin Ssempa. I reported way back in January 2010 that Ssempa was associated with the group. However, efforts then to get FWI to respond to the issue were ignored.  Recently, however, FWI made a change which according to Slater was a reflection of their belief that gays not be killed or beaten for being gay. She told me in the interview that FWI did not support violence, but take no position on other penalties.
The question that came to my mind was – “Isn’t removal of freedom and being cast in jail violence?”
Apparently, not violent enough.
I hope you will go read the report at RD.

Ghana's administration sends mixed signals on gays

Ghana’s President has not spoken but a recent appointee seems to have taken on the role of government spokesperson. Lauretta Lamptey, a recent appointment to the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice clarified the position of her office on Tuesday.
In short, the government is leaving it up to Parliament to either decriminalize homosexuality, to make the penalties stronger or leave things as they are. Lamptey says that being homosexual is not a crime but some kinds of homosexual behavior might be.
I posted on this at Religion Dispatches – the rest is over there…
Paul Canning has more on GLB efforts to response to the recent anti-gay rhetoric.

Ghana's government silent on calls to jail gays

Yesterday, I posted a piece at Religion Dispatches about the response of Ghana’s government to my inquiries about the recent calls for arrests of gays. Here is the lead:

In the face of reports that Ghana’s Western Region Minister recently called for the arrest of gays, a Ghanaian government source told RD today that the government was not “clamping down” on sexual minorities. The source, who did not want to be named since he was not speaking officially, said that Ghana is a law abiding country and that those on a crusade should take up the matter in the courts.
The issue appears to be a sensitive one for the government. The Ministry of Information and the Office of the President declined to speak to me and one staffer simply hung up when asked if the government supported recent calls to arrest gays.

Go read the rest over at RD.
UPDATE (7/28/11) – Reached the President’s office today and the spokeswoman there said she was not authorized to talk about the President’s position on the call for arrests of gays in Ghana. The Communications Director who she thought might comment was out until Monday.

Is Ghana the next Uganda?

Judging from this June, 2011 report, a safe prediction is that Ghana’s Parliament might soon follow the lead of Uganda in some manner. I have been observing a steady stream of articles from religious and political leaders calling for tougher restrictions on homosexuality. Click the link above to read some, and then consider this recent one calling on Christians to vote against any politician who proposes any law favorable to homosexuality. Also, listen to the interview on the page. One minister, a Dr. Marti, said that one reason that the British Empire fell was because of homosexuality. That minister called for clearer laws against homosexuality so that Ghana would lead the world against homosexuality. Apparently, the issue might become a campaign issue in the upcoming elections.
The situation does not seem to be as severe there as in Uganda, however, this politician warned last month that mob violence may occur. And this one openly called for interfering with rights of association for gays. Today, a Ghanaian leader called for new legislation.
Much of the rhetoric sounds like Uganda circa 2009.
More today (7/19/11) – Rev. Gideon Titi-Ofei & UK evangelist, Nana Owusu condemn homosexuality.