Ghana's anti-LGBTQ+ bill to be inspected before approval, president says

BBC News · 🇬🇧 public United Kingdom · Jun 02, 2026 · 533 words · By Thomas Naadi

Regional Trends in Africa Human rights Legislative Process

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Ghana's anti-LGBTQ+ bill to be scrutinised before approval, president says Ghana's new bill criminalising LGBTQ+ activities will undergo scrutiny before it is officially approved, the president has said.

Claims checked 17

Techniques found 1

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left12%

Center76%

Right12%

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

What happened

Why it matters

Speaking during a visit to the UK, John Mahama said his legal council and attorney general would "sit on it because it was a private members' motion...

Common ground

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.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Regional Trends in Africa story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that former President Nana Akufo-Addo, failed to give his assent to that version of the bill before leaving office last year?
How does this story connect Regional Trends in Africa with Human rights over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8pgrd50xko?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 70% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 17 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 7

check_circle Corroborated 4

verified Verified By Reference 3

info Single Source 2

help Insufficient Evidence 1

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Claim 1: “former President Nana Akufo-Addo, failed to give his assent to that version of the bill before leaving office last year”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided or found for this claim.

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Claim 2: “When it passed in 2024, it was challenged by multiple lawsuits at the Supreme Court”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 3: “Uganda introduced a death penalty for certain same-sex acts in 2023”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 4: “The bill - passed by parliament on Friday - proposes up to three years imprisonment for identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer”

CORROBORATED

BBC and other web search results confirm that the bill passed by parliament imposes prison time for those identifying as LGBTQ+.

travel_explore

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

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jun 5, 2026 ... Ghana's parliament passed a bill imposing prison time on people accused of supporting LGBTQ rights even if they aren't LGBTQ themselves.
https://www.facebook.com/cnn/posts/ghanas-parliament-passed-…

info

Claim 5: “Mahama also said there were some procedural lapses in its passage, which are being addressed by the Speaker of parliament”

SINGLE SOURCE

Only one specific web search result mentions Mahama's comment regarding procedural lapses being addressed by the Speaker of Parliament.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — John Dramani Mahama ( ; born 29 November 1958) is a Ghanaian politician who has been the president of the Republic of Ghana since January 2025. A member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), he p…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mahama

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mahama Ayariga (born 12 May 1974) is a lawyer and politician in Ghana. He belongs to the National Democratic Congress. He was the Minister of Information and Media Relations and the Minister of Youth …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahama_Ayariga

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana is the presiding officer of the Parliament of Ghana. The current speaker, Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, was sworn-in for a second term as Speaker of the Ninth…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker_of_the_Parliament_of_G…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 6: “The bill was reintroduced in parliament this year by a cross-party group of MPs”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 7: “John Mahama said his legal council and attorney general would 'sit on it because it was a private members' motion... [and] not a government bill'”

CORROBORATED

Both Wikipedia and a web search result confirm that Mahama identified the bill as a private member's bill and expressed a preference for it to be a government bill.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Lordina Mahama (née Effah; born 6 March 1963) is the current First Lady of Ghana since January 2025. She previously served as first lady from 2012 to 2017. She is married to the President of Ghana, Jo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lordina_Mahama

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The president of the Republic of Ghana is the elected head of state and head of government of Ghana, as well as commander-in-chief of the Ghana Armed Forces. The current president of Ghana is John Mah…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_Ghana

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 8: “Ghana's new bill criminalising LGBTQ+ activities will undergo scrutiny before it is officially approved”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources (BBC and Yahoo) report that President John Mahama stated the bill will undergo scrutiny before official approval.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jun 2, 2026 ... ... will undergo scrutiny before it is officially approved, the president has said. Speaking during a visit to the UK, John Mahama said his ...
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8pgrd50xko

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jun 9, 2026 ... Infact it was the 99% of the population of Ghana who force the government to pass this bill. 2w. 2.
https://www.facebook.com/WIONews/posts/worldofafrica-ghanas-…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jun 2, 2026 ... Ghana's new bill criminalising LGBTQ+ activities will undergo scrutiny before it is officially approved, the president has said.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/ghanas-anti-lgbtq-…

verified

Claim 9: “A similar bill was first introduced to parliament in August 2021”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence confirms the bill's existence and a 2024 passage, but does not explicitly confirm that a similar bill was first introduced in August 2021.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ghanaian Americans are an ethnic group of Americans of full or partial Ghanaian ancestry or Ghanaian immigrants who became naturalized citizen of the United States.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghanaian_Americans

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The cedi ( SEE-dee; currency sign: GH₵; currency code: GHS) is the unit of currency of Ghana. It is the fourth historical and only current legal tender in the Republic of Ghana. One Cedi is divided in…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghanaian_cedi

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ghanaians are people originating from the Ghanaian Gold Coast. Ghanaians predominantly inhabit the Republic of Ghana and are the predominant cultural group and residents of Ghana, numbering 34 million…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghanaians

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 10: “The bill proposes a 'duty to report' prohibited acts to police”

SINGLE SOURCE

While sources confirm the bill's existence and general punitive measures, the provided evidence does not specifically mention a 'duty to report' clause.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jun 3, 2026 ... We do not tolerate any form of discrimination, this includes homophobia and other forms of hate speech. 3w · 37 likes. Markus Heinisch.
https://www.facebook.com/deutschewellenews/posts/ghanas-parl…

travel_explore

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Claim 11: “Human Rights Watch recommended the bill be abandoned in a formal submission to the constitutional and legal affairs committee”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 12: “Mahama has been pressured by religious leaders to strengthen anti-gay measures”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of general definitions of religion and biographical info on Mahama, but no specific evidence regarding pressure from religious leaders to strengthen the bill.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Cabinet of President John Dramani Mahama consists of the ministers of state appointed by Ghanaian President John Mahama during his second term in office. The cabinet takes responsibility for makin…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_of_John_Mahama

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The vice president of Ghana is the second-highest officer in the Government of Ghana. The vice president, together with the president of Ghana, is directly elected by the people through popular vote t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vice_President_of_Ghana

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 13: “anyone who identifies as an 'ally' - a supporter of LGBTQ+ people - could face a prison sentence”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 14: “an LGBTQ+ resources centre was shut down in the capital, Accra [in August 2021]”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided Wikipedia entries for this claim discuss individuals and general LGBTQ rights in Ghana, but do not mention the shutdown of a resource center in August 2021.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) people in Ghana face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Sexual acts between males have been illegal as "unnatural carnal kno…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBTQ_rights_in_Ghana

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Alfred Oko Vanderpuije (born 4 November 1955) is a Ghanaian educationist and politician who currently serves as a member of parliament. He is currently the member of parliament for Ablekuma South Cons…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Oko_Vanderpuije

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wikipedia 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 restrictions on LGBTQ rights. The bill was approved b…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghanaian_anti-LGBTQ_bill

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Claim 15: “Ghanaian laws dating from the British colonial era ban same-sex relationships”

CORROBORATED

Confirmed by a cross-reference (BBC News), Wikipedia, and web search results stating that laws banning same-sex relationships date back to the British colonial era.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) people in Ghana face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Sexual acts between ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBTQ_rights_in_Ghana

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Apr 16, 2026 ... So why are these laws being heralded as upholding African tradition? Senegal, Burkina Faso, Uganda and Ghana have over the past few years ...
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXMsDaUouwg/?hl=en

travel_explore

+ 1 more evidence source

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Claim 16: “The current version exempts punishment for legal, healthcare and media professionals who provide medical treatment and other services for gay people, or report on LGBTQ+ news”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 17: “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”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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.