Ghana's parliament on Friday approved one of the most repressive anti-LGBTQ laws in Africa, which is now awaiting ratification by President John Mahama.

The law on sexual rights and family values imposes a penalty of up to three years' jail for people who engage in homosexual relations, and between three and five years for the promotion, sponsorship or intentional support of LGBT+ activities.

The bill was passed unanimously by parliament in 2024 but former president Nana Akufo-Addo did not sign it.

Under Ghana's constitution, draft legislation not signed by the president before the end of a parliamentary term automatically lapses and must be passed again by the new parliament.

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The law approved Friday retains the previous bill's core provisions but includes exemptions.

For example, lawyers can still represent LGBTQ clients without being penalised.

Similarly, the media will be able to address these issues and healthcare professionals will be able to provide care or psychological support to LGBT+ people without fear of reprisal.

One-third of world still criminalises consensual same-sex acts: report

Same-sex relationships are prohibited in Ghana - a conservative, deeply religious country with a Christian majority - by a law dating from the British colonial era, but there have been no prosecutions on these grounds to date.

Human rights groups and several international organisations have condemned the bill.

In February 2025, Mahama said: "I believe in the principles and values that only two genders exist -- man and woman. And that marriage is between a man and a woman."

Around 60 countries in the world ban same-sex relations, about half of them are in Africa, according to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA).

(with AFP)