Months back, a voice vote was put on which lawmakers were against the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill (also known as the anti-LGBTQ+ Bill); all Members of Parliament present in the chamber expressed support.
While it is known that most MPs support the Bill which is nearing passage by the House, some MPs have also been rumoured as opposing it in some parts even though they avoid stating so publicly for political and electoral reasons.
The MP for Madina – a predominantly Muslim constituency – Francis[1]Xavier Sosu has come under fire by the Coalition of Muslims Organization of Ghana (COMOG), as being a strong opponent of the Bill. In an interview with Starr News this week, the Chairman of COMOG, Alhaji Abdul Hanan said Sosu had shown open opposition to the Bill when COMOG and other organizations attended sittings and consultations on the Bill.
“Sometime back, we indicated to Ghanaians that as a Coalition of Muslim Organization of Ghana and a member of National Coalition for Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values, we will mention names of individuals who are being impediments in our way to ensure that we have sanity in our system as far as LGBT activities are concerned. “Today, I want to mention the first name and that is Francis Sosu.
He is one person who is against our activities to ensure that there is sanity, and that our values as Ghanaians are protected. On top of that, Sosu had the audacity to ensure that he expunged the laws that bring security to us as Ghanaians,” he charged.
The COMOG boss’ revelation was tied to a recent Bill Sosu is pushing in Parliament on the matter of statutory holidays. As part of his Bill, he wants the government to give Muslims two extra holidays in lieu of their two annual Eid holidays. COMOG, however, insists that with his pro-gay stance, Sosu is not fit to champion the cause of Muslims. “We think that it’s not a bad idea in the first place, but the one who is championing it is not the right person.
He added: “Sosu has forgotten that he is an MP for a place where we have a chunk of Muslim communities which is Madina. He is not the right person to advocate for this. We are going to Sosu’s constituency, and he should get ready for us. “We are going to mount a forum and have a proper debate with him. He only hides his face behind the proposed holidays. We don’t need Sosu to be the one to be advocating for us,” he stressed.
