It will be recalled that on August 15, 2015, a victim, identified as Hamza Sanusi, was captured in a video footage showing some Nima youth assaulting him while accusing him of being a homosexual in the sprawling Accra suburb. The video had gone viral on the social media and other platforms over the weekend. The assault leads by one Sulley and his 20 others without any provocation or whatsoever.
When the victim caught on the act with gay partner, how was interrogated by the mob, he “Hamza Sanusi” mentioned Massawudu Jamil as his gay practicing friend and hence Jamil has not seen peace.
This is what, the holy Quran says on the issue: The Quran mentions sex between men several times, almost all of them in the context of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, in which some city inhabitants demand sexual access to the messengers sent by God to the prophet Lot (or Lut). The Quranic story is almost the same as the version in the Bible. Later explanations of the Quran agreed that the “abomination” alluded to by the Quranic passages was attempted sodomy (specifically anal intercourse) between men. The sins of the people of Lut later became proverbial and the Arabic words for the act of anal sex between men such as “liwat” and for a person who performs such acts “Luti”; both derive from the name Lut, although Lut was not the one demanding sex.
The Constitution of Ghana: Section 104 (b) of the Ghanaian Criminal Code of 1960, criminalizes “unnatural carnal knowledge”, as a misdemeanor. Section 104 defines “unnatural carnal knowledge” as “sexual intercourse with a person in an unnatural manner or with an animal”. Due to the definition contained in Section 99 of the code, which stipulates “penetration”, an “unnatural manner” is taken to refer to sex acts between men–not between women–and oral and anal sex between people of different sexes. Misdemeanors carry a penalty of up to three years imprisonment under Article 296 of the Criminal Procedural Code.
The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and its traditional interpretations in Judaism and Christianity have historically affirmed and endorsed a patriarchal and heteronormative approach towards human sexuality, favoring exclusively penetrative vaginal intercourse between men and women within the boundaries of marriage over all other forms of human sexual activity, including autoeroticism, masturbation, oral sex, non-penetrative and non-heterosexual sexual intercourse, believing and teaching that such behaviors are forbidden because they are considered to be sinful, and further compared to or derived from the behavior of the alleged residents of Sodom and Gomorrah.
The Africa traditional believers does not favor the act in no equal terms hence it is very hard for anyone to safely practice LGBTQ+ in Africa which Ghana is no exception, there is a bill in parliament of Ghana to criminalize the act.
Nima is a Muslim-dominated area hence suspecious person with LGBTQ+ activity or activism will receive attacks from the community. Jamil who mentioned by an attacked gay man is no perception to attacks. The community severally abused him with verbally and physically. At a point he had a cut on his face due to the attacks. Due he was not caught in the act but just a mention of his name has resulted in his struggle. Jamil could not continue receiving those beatings and insults hence he left the community with no trace.
Note: In Ghana the police cannot help LGBTQ+ activist to practice in his free world which does not exists in Ghana. The Nima community is still looking for Jamil to continue with attack.
Micheal Brown / Marhaba FM/ Accra
