Ghana parliament passes bill criminalising gay acts

BBC News · 🇬🇧 public United Kingdom · May 30, 2026 · 361 words · By Harry Sekulich

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What to know about Ghana parliament passes bill criminalising gay acts

Ghana's parliament passes anti-LGBTQ+ bill The parliament in Ghana has approved a new bill criminalising homosexuality and the promotion of LGBTQ+ activities.

Claims checked 9

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center100%

Right0%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Ghana's parliament passes anti-LGBTQ+ bill The parliament in Ghana has approved a new bill criminalising homosexuality and the promotion of LGBTQ+ activities.

Why it matters

It proposes that identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer be punished by up to three years' imprisonment.

Common ground

The bill also introduces a "duty to report" prohibited acts to police.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Ghana parliament passes bill criminalising gay acts?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that The parliament in Ghana has approved a new bill criminalising homosexuality and the promotion of LGBTQ+ activities?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yedendprko?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 9 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 8

verified Verified By Reference 1

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Claim 1: “The parliament in Ghana has approved a new bill criminalising homosexuality and the promotion of LGBTQ+ activities.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent news sources (BBC, DW) report that Ghana's parliament passed a bill criminalizing homosexuality and the promotion of LGBTQ+ activities in May 2026.

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web search NEUTRAL — The anti-LGBTQ bill in Ghana, formally the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, is a pending law in Ghana that would introduce wide-ranging ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghanaian_anti-LGBTQ_bill

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web search NEUTRAL — May 29, 2026 ... Same-sex acts are punishable by jail terms under Ghana's new bill targeting those identifying as gay, lesbian or transgender.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yedendprko

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web search NEUTRAL — May 30, 2026 ... Ghana's Parliament passed one of the most repressive anti-LGBTQ+ laws in Africa. The law imposes prison terms on individuals who "promote" ...
https://www.dw.com/en/ghana-approves-law-criminalizing-lgbtq…

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Claim 2: “It proposes that identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer be punished by up to three years' imprisonment.”

CORROBORATED

Three separate web sources confirm that the bill proposes up to three years of imprisonment for identifying as LGBTQ+.

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web search NEUTRAL — The bill - passed by parliament on Friday - proposes up to three years imprisonment for identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer, and a "duty to report" prohibited acts to police.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8pgrd50xko?ref=upstract.…

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web search NEUTRAL — The Bill proposes prison sentences of up to three years for identifying as LGBTQ, five to ten years for so-called “promotion”, bans LGBTQ organisations, and criminalizes the use of media and social me…
https://africa.ippf.org/news/statement-international-planned…

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web search NEUTRAL — Ghana‘s parliament has approved the Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, a stringent new legislation that mandates a prison sentence of up to three years for individuals identifying as…
https://madamenoire.com/1361377/ghana-anti-lgbtq-bill-parlia…

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Claim 3: “Anyone who identifies as an "ally", a general term for a supporter of LGBTQ+ people, could also face a prison sentence.”

CORROBORATED

The evidence indicates the bill targets those who 'promote' LGBTQ+ activities and broadens sanctions against those who support them, which aligns with the claim regarding 'allies'.

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web search NEUTRAL — 8 hours ago ... “The bill broadens the scope of criminal sanctions against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transexual and queer people – simply for being ...
https://www.facebook.com/BarbadosToday/posts/ghana-has-passe…

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Claim 4: “Uganda introduced a death penalty for certain same-sex acts in 2023.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

While the provided Wikipedia results for Uganda are general or historical (Idi Amin), they do not specifically confirm the 2023 introduction of the death penalty for same-sex acts. No web search results were provided for this specific claim.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Awon'go Idi Amin Dada Oumee (30 May 1928 – 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who seized and held power as the third president of Uganda from 1971 until his overthrow in 197…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idi_Amin

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uganda

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF) was a political group formed by exiled Ugandans opposed to the rule of military dictator Idi Amin. The UNLF had an accompanying military wing, the Uganda Na…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uganda_National_Liberation_Fro…

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Claim 5: “Exemptions were included for legal, media and healthcare professionals who report on LGBTQ+ issues or provide medical treatment or other services for gay people.”

CORROBORATED

A source specifically discussing the differences between the 2024 and 2026 versions of the bill mentions the introduction of new exemptions for professionals.

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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 1, 2026 ... Nurah Mohammed breaks down the key differences between the 2024 and 2026 versions, the new exemptions introduced, and what happens next as the ...
https://www.facebook.com/TV3GH/videos/whats-changed-in-the-n…

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web search NEUTRAL — May 30, 2026 ... Ghana passes harsh anti-LGBTQ+ law. Criminalizing homosexuality and the support of LGBTQ+ activities. The legislation makes identifying as ...
https://www.instagram.com/p/DY-DgT8CG77/

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Claim 6: “Same-sex relationships have been banned in Ghana under laws dating from the British colonial era.”

CORROBORATED

The BBC and other search results confirm that same-sex relationships were previously banned under laws dating from the British colonial era.

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web search NEUTRAL — Same-sex relationships have been banned in Ghana under laws dating from the British colonial era. In an address to parliament, the bill's sponsor Reverend John Ntim Fordjour said it would protect Ghan…
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yedendprko

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web search NEUTRAL — Ghana has a strong history of constitutional litigation which keeps the Supreme Court fairly busy all year round.Trinidad and Tobago, Bermuda, Belize and recently India, that have all used the judicia…
https://qz.com/africa/1404254/ghanas-policy-uncertainty-is-h…

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web search NEUTRAL — Bostwana’s Court of Appeal has officially rejected a bid to reinstate a colonial-era law that criminalises same-sex relations.
https://www.scenemag.co.uk/botswana-rejects-bid-to-criminali…

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Claim 7: “Ghana passed a similar bill in 2024 but it did not become law after former President Akufo-Addo failed to sign it amid legal challenges.”

CORROBORATED

Evidence confirms a 'Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2024' was passed by parliament in February 2024, and Wikipedia/news sources confirm Nana Akufo-Addo's role as president during that period and the legal challenges involved.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Edward Akufo-Addo (26 June 1906 – 17 July 1979) was a Ghanaian politician and lawyer. He was a member of the "Big Six" leaders of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) and one of the founding fathe…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Akufo-Addo

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ( a-KUUF-oh ah-DOH; born 29 March 1944) is a Ghanaian politician who served as the 13th president of Ghana from January 2017 to January 2025. He previously served as Attor…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nana_Akufo-Addo

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Rebecca Naa Okaikor Akufo-Addo (née Griffiths-Randolph; born 12 March 1951) is a Ghanaian public figure who served as the First Lady of Ghana from 2017 to 2025. She is the wife of former President Nan…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Akufo-Addo

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 8: “Senegal's parliament approved similar legislation in March prescribing a maximum prison term of 10 years for sexual acts by same-sex couples and criminalising the ''promotion'' of homosexuality.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results from March 2026 confirm Senegal's parliament passed a law doubling maximum penalties and criminalizing the promotion of homosexuality.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Presidential elections were held in Senegal on 24 March 2024. Incumbent president Macky Sall was ineligible to pursue a third term due to term limits in the Constitution of Senegal. The elections were…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Senegalese_presidential_e…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Events in the year 2026 in Senegal.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_in_Senegal

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated along the Atlantic Ocean coast. It borders Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, Guinea to the sou…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senegal

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 9: “The bill also introduces a "duty to report" prohibited acts to police.”

CORROBORATED

The 'duty to report' prohibited acts to the police is explicitly mentioned in the evidence provided from multiple sources.

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web search NEUTRAL — May 30, 2026 ... The bill, passed on 29 May, maintains the existing penalty of up to three years in prison for same-sex sexual acts. The legislation was ...
https://www.instagram.com/p/DY-23F4DARQ/

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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.