A man suspected to be gay has been stabbed about six times by violent men in Ghana.
In a widely shared video on social media, two men are seen assaulting a man who is ostensibly gay near the Racecourse Medical Center in Sowutuom, a suburb of Accra.
According to an eyewitness quoted in a Rightify Ghana report, two men who are known to pose as homosexual men enticed the victim to the area using a dating app. As per the eyewitness account in the report, the two men are well known for enticing gay people into the area using dating apps in order to loot and assault them due to their alleged sexual orientation.
“Some people in the area know that this is what the guys do. They bring gay people to the area to beat them, however, this case is the worst I have seen,” the eyewitness said.
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In the video, you can see the victim was severely battered and sustained major injuries in the widely shared video.
“He was stabbed more than six times mostly in his back and arms, this made the guy faint, so he was rushed to the hospital in a taxi” the eyewitness added. The victim repeatedly yelled for help but no one intervened, not even bystanders.
Over the past few years, the ongoing abuse of LGBTQ people in Ghana has been extremely problematic and appears to be receiving less attention and discussion.
Between December 2016 and February 2017, Human Rights Watch conducted 114 interviews in Ghana’s three regions to understand the plight of members of the LGBTQ community ahead of the draconian bill waiting to become law. One of their interviews was with a 40-year-old lesbian from Cape Coast who recounted her experience.
“The government should recognize that we are human beings, with dig, not treat us as outcast in our own society, we want to be free, so we can stand tall in public and not deal with obstacles and harassment daily – this will make it easier for us to get an education, learn a trade, get jobs and be useful and productive Ghanaians, ” she told Human Rights Watch.
The study by Human Rights Watch indicates that dozens of LGBT people have been assaulted by throngs or members of their own families due to their sexual orientation. A vigilante gang attacked a young man in Nima in 2015 because they thought he was gay. Whereas in 2016, a mother also mobilized a crowd to beat up her own daughter and another woman because she believed they were involved in the act of a lesbian.
There are multiple accounts of LGBT individuals’ victimization by their own families, by society, and by those who freely assault them because of their sexual orientation.
Aaron Mike Ocquaye, a former speaker of parliament, described homosexuality as an “abomination” in 2017.
In a statement made on June 13, Speaker of Parliament, Rt Honourable Alban Bagbin stated that he’d rather die than to see LGBTQ legalized”
“I will prefer to join my Maker than to live. That is me. I am a Catholic and pro-life. I will not do anything that will end the world because God says the world is eternal. Until He comes back, we cannot do that to end the world,”
Could such remarks from Ghanaian authorities have increased anxiety for LGBT people and led to an upsurge in assaults against them?
On July 19, the Ghanaian Supreme Court dismissed a court petition that sought to block Parliament’s consideration of the country’s anti-gay bill.
Academic researcher, Dr. Amanda Odoi, filed a petition on July 7 contending that the proposed bill’s legislative procedure violates the Constitution and that this would affect donor aid and other forms of financial support.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously dismissed the application by a nine-member panel led by Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo, stating that it was not persuaded to give such an order at this time because the issues raised would be dealt with in the substantive litigation.
