Accra: The Ghana Society of the Physically Disabled (GSPD) has issued a caution to religious leaders, urging them to avoid making derogatory or disrespectful remarks about persons with disabilities. The society highlighted the importance of upholding dignity and human rights in public engagements.
According to Ghana News Agency, the GSPD emphasized the need for religious leaders to refrain from mimicking, mocking, or portraying persons with disabilities in ways that reinforce stigma or discrimination. In particular, the society called on Prophet Telvin Sowah Adjei of the Prophetic Life Embassy to issue a public and unconditional apology following a viral video in which he was alleged to have made derogatory remarks during a sermon.
The Society described the remarks as offensive and unacceptable, stating that such language undermines the dignity of persons with disabilities. It highlighted that such language promotes stigma and discrimination and violates the dignity and rights of persons with disabilities as protected under the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715), and relevant international instruments.
The statement noted that Ghana is a State Party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which obliges the State and all actors to promote respect for inherent dignity, non-discrimination, and the full participation of persons with disabilities in society. The Society stressed that public speech that dehumanizes persons with disabilities contravenes these obligations and called for the immediate withdrawal of the remarks.