Accra: President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference (GCBC), Most Rev Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, has called on Parliament to pass the anti-LGBTQ bill in its original form without alterations, warning against what he described as a 'disfigured' or 'hollow' law. Speaking on Citi TV, he emphasized that Ghanaians expect lawmakers to deliver exactly what was presented and approved by citizens.
According to Ghana Web, the Conference is closely monitoring developments in Parliament. Most Rev Gyamfi stated, 'How they do that is up to their own rules and regulations, but we want what Ghanaians want . we are watching them very carefully.' He also raised concerns about disagreements within Parliament over the process used in handling the bill, urging resolution of such confusion to ensure a clear outcome.
Most Rev Gyamfi further mentioned that Parliament must ensure the final bill reflects public expectations without legal or procedural complications that could delay its passage. He expressed uncertainty about parliamentary discussions and emphasized the need for internal resolution if procedural errors have occurred, adding, 'They should sort themselves out and for once come together and give to Ghanaians what they have requested.'
The GCBC President cautioned against any legislative process that might weaken the bill's content or repeat past situations where presidential assent was not secured. He urged Parliament to present a complete and unaltered version of the bill to the President for approval, noting, 'We expect Parliament to produce and we don't want any technicalities, anything that will take us to what or where we got to in the last Parliament where the president for some reason we do not know yet did not append his signature.'
He stressed, 'We want Parliament to put on the president desk what we Ghanaians have asked them to do. Nothing more nothing less. They should not send a disfigured law that has been hollowed out of its content, hollowed out of what Ghanaians want.' He warned that anything short of that would not be acceptable to the public, asserting, 'We are not going to accept that, Ghanaians will not accept that and they will not appreciate a law like that which would be a bad law.'
Most Rev Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi's comment follows the recent passage of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill. The Minority has since raised concerns over changes made to the bill, including 22 deleted clauses and 31 inserted clauses, which they say differ from the initial version passed in 2024.