A high court in Ghana ruled on Monday to reject a legal appeal to President Nana Akufo-Addo’s decision to delay implementing an anti-LGBTQ measure that was approved by parliament in February.
Akufo-Addo has been urged to implement the new law by lawmakers who overwhelmingly approved legislation that would exacerbate the country of West Africa’s crackdown on LGBTQ rights.
However, the president has stated that it will not send the law to the president for ratification until two legal challenges to it have been resolved, which has caused criticism in the legislature.
One opposition lawmaker, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, took the delay to the high court, which ruled against his challenge on Monday.
Justice Ellen Lordina Serwaa Mireku said the court had decided it would be inappropriate to compel Akufo-Addo to act on a bill that faced two pending Supreme Court challenges.
Dafeamekpor’s lawyer said he would appeal against the ruling.
Gay sex is already punishable with up to three years in jail in Ghana.
If the anti-LGBTQ bill take effect, it will lengthen that prison sentence and intensify a crackdown on the rights of LGBTQ people and those accused of promoting lesbian, gay or other minority sexual or gender identities.
Supporters of the bill have been pushing for its promulgation despite a finance ministry warning that it could jeopardise $3.8 billion in World Bank financing and derail a $3-billion International Monetary Fund loan package to help Ghana out of an economic crisis.
The World Bank suspended new funding for Uganda after it signed one of the world’s toughest anti-LGBTQ laws in 2023.
