Ghanaian MPs and pastors are homosexual, says media personality Akumaa Mama Zimbi
Ghanaian radio and TV personality Akumaa Mama Zimbi has claimed that some members of parliament, pastors and CEOs in Ghana are homosexual.
According to Mama Zimbi, these high-ranking members of Ghanaian society keep their sexuality under wraps because homosexuality is still illegal in the country.
Speaking on the Starr Chat radio show, Mama Zimbi described homosexuality as satanic, and said that “there are men of God, CEOs and MPs who are into it.”
She told host Bola Ray on Wednesday: “Homosexuality is satanic. God didn’t create man and man, but man and woman.”
Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo (PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty)
Mama Zimbi, a sex educationist and mother of six, also told women to educate their children about sex early on, so that they don’t “fall into the act of homosexuality.”
She went on to state that sex is an essential component in successful marriages, urging women to engage their husbands in discussions about sex.
In December last year, the President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, said that the country is bound to eventually decriminalise homosexuality – but only after popular support grows.
It is currently illegal to be gay in Ghana, and gay men can face up to three years in prison.
Human rights groups say that physical and violent homophobic attacks against LGBT people are still common, often encouraged by the media and religious leaders.
Related: Commonwealth homophobia – More than 100,000 sign petition calling for gay sex to be decriminalised
Mama Zimbi’s comments come after America’s ambassador to Ghana, Robert Jackson, said there are “far more gays in Ghana than Ghanaians realise.”
Jackson made an appearance on GhanaWeb’s show 21 Minutes with KKB during which he discussed the plight of LGBT people in Ghana and how things might change.
He said: “I believe that everyone should enjoy the same human rights and personally I believe that people are either born homosexual or heterosexual, it is not a lifestyle choice.”
Akumaa Mama Zimbi (Instagram/akumaamamazimbi)
“Statistics indicate that probably 10 per cent of people are born gay,” he added.
“I think there are far more gays in Ghana than Ghanaians realise but because of societal pressure, societal attitude, they keep their sexuality private.
“But the United States is not asking anyone to their religious believes or to legalise homosexuality. We are asking that all people be treated the same. That they have the same human rights and the same rights to privacy.”
