Students expelled from Ghana hostel for engaging in ‘lesbianism’ during threesome
The University of Professional Studies, Accra, campus. (Facebook)
Two students at a university in Ghana have been allegedly expelled from the institution’s hostel for allegedly engaging in “lesbianism”.
The students, two females attending the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), were described by the university as “fondling” one another during a “threesome” with a man.
As “lesbianism” goes against the university’s student handbook, UPSA administrators ousted the two women from their hostel.
They did this, university bosses reportedly wrote in a dismissal notice published Tuesday (23 November), to “serve as a deterrent” to any other university students on campus who wish to engage in “sexual misconduct”.
The university in a statement Wednesday denied that the incident took place and that it did not “authorise” the students’ expulsion from the hostel.
For activists, UPSA’s actions capture how an anti-LGBT+ currently hurtling through parliament will likely embolden bigots even further.
According to the claimed notice obtained by MyJoyOnline, the pair of students had a “threesome” with a male “non-resident student” at an unspecified date during the second semester.
“During the second batch of the 2020/2021 Academic Year, second-semester hostel stay, two female resident students and one male non-resident student engaged in a threesome sexual activity,” the notice stated.
“Engaging in acts of lesbianism is contrary to section 1.28.11(g) of the Student Handbook of the University of Professional Studies, Accra; 2018 and schedule G 8.3 (23) of the Statute of the University.
“They have since been dismissed from UPSA Hostel awaiting further sanctions from management.”
“Desist from sexual misconduct and observe all other rules and regulations in the Hostel as well as the Student Handbook,” it added.
“Any student caught infringing any of the regulations will not be spared.”
Activists condemn Ghana university for throwing out students for having a ‘threesome’
Rightify Ghana, a grassroots LGBT+ activist group, warned in a Twitter thread that such hostility has taken place “even before Ghana’s anti-LGBTQ bill is passed”.
The proposal, the “Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021“, will roll out harsher penalties for everything from anal sex to LGBT+ allyship. It would even be a criminal offence for people of the same gender to hold hands or kiss.
Since it was rammed into parliament earlier this year, Rightfiy Ghana warned that anti-LGBT+ violence has “doubled” and shows no sign of petering out. Instead, the group fears that if the legislation is passed, it will give homophobes an even greater sense of impunity.
Perpetrators have found allies from likely sources: regional chiefs, faith leaders and even the speaker of parliament.
“We condemn the dismissal of the two female resident students from UPSA hostel,” Rightify Ghana said.
“While the section 1.28.11 (g) of their student handbook emphasised CONSENT, authorities failed to state whether or not the students flouted it.
“It is wrong to punish consenting adults for having sex.”
In a Twitter statement from its Registrar office, UPSA denied that its vice-chancellor Abednego Feehi Okoe Amartey, who has final say on disciplinary measures, “authorised” the expulsion.
“All decisions taken by the vice chancellor are communicated through the registrar,” the statement said. “Any disciplinary communication that does not follow the above procedure is not authorised by management and should therefore be disregarded.
“The university further states that no disciplinary report on the alleged incident is before management for final decisions.
“Members of the public are therefore advised to disregard the story.”
