A heated exchange unfolded in Parliament on Friday, July 11, 2025, as First Deputy Minority Whip Habib Iddrisu called for Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa to brief the House on Ghana’s abstention in a United Nations Human Rights Council vote on July 7, 2025, to renew the mandate of the Independent Expert on Protection Against Violence and Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (A/HRC/59/L.2). Iddrisu’s request, raised during a session presided over by First Deputy Speaker Bernard Ahiafor, cited concerns over Ghana’s abstention and referenced viral photos of a South African queer couple allegedly kissing at the Independence monument, which sparked public uproar.
Iddrisu argued that the abstention, coupled with the viral images, signals a worrying trend regarding Ghana’s stance on LGBTQ+ issues. However, Ahiafor, MP for Akatsi South, questioned the need for the minister’s briefing, noting that voting options in such settings mirror parliamentary procedures vote for, against, or abstain. He urged MPs to avoid generating debate during the presentation of business statement, referencing the history of the “Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill” passed by the 8th Parliament but not assented to by former President Nana Akufo-Addo.
In response, Majority Chief Whip Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, MP for South Dayi, dismissed the viral images as “totally falsehood,” asserting they were AI-generated. “The matters that the First Deputy Minority Whip alluded to regarding two persons seen kissing at the Independence Square are totally falsehood. It was an AI-generated image posted by someone onto his social media handle,” Dafeamekpor stated on the floor. He argued that Iddrisu’s demand for the minister to explain the UN vote lacked basis, as the images were not authentic and should not influence parliamentary action.
Cape Coast South MP and Deputy Majority Leader George Kweku Ricketts-Hagan supported Dafeamekpor, lamenting that if the 2024 anti-LGBTQ+ bill had been assented to by Akufo-Addo, LGBTQ won’t have been an issue anymore in Ghana. The bill was reintroduced in the Parliament in February 2025.
The abstention has drawn sharp rebukes from MPs like Okaikwei Central’s Patrick Boamah, who called it “shocking,” Assin South’s Reverend John Ntim Fordjour, who labeled it as a “coward” vote, and Ningo Prampram’s Samuel Nartey George, who deemed it contrary to Ghana’s values. On July 9, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs defended the decision, stating it aligned with the 1992 Constitution’s binary gender definition and focused on preventing violence, not endorsing LGBTQ+ rights. Minister Felix Ofosu Kwakye also affirmed President John Dramani Mahama’s commitment to passing the bill as a government initiative.
Dafeamekpor’s claim that the viral images are AI-generated shifts focus from the public uproar, while Iddrisu’s push for clarity highlights ongoing tensions over Ghana’s stance on LGBTQ+ issues, as the anti-LGBTQ+ bill remains stalled despite Speaker approval four months ago.
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