3 gays arrested in Ghana

TEMA, Ghana - The police arrested three men on Friday for allegedly engaging in homosexual practice in the port of Tema, 38 km east of the capital Accra.

The Sakumono district police commander, Superintendent Alex Awolo, confirmed to local journalists the arrest of Samuel Lartey, Inusah Fuseini and another one, Quansah.

Awolo informed the press that Lartey accused Fuseini of having unnatural carnal knowledge of him while the third person, Quansah, was also said to be present while the act took place.

The police commander emphasized that the trio were being held on an allegation of sodomy, a practice that was illegal as far as the laws of the West African country were concerned.

He further noted that the police had initiated further investigations into the matter and if there was the need to prefer any charges, they would do so accordingly.

Asked to explain further the kind of charges the police were going to prefer, Awolo claimed that Fuseini would be charged for having unnatural carnal knowledge of Samuel Lartey.

Commenting on the arrest of the three alleged gays on local radio, Kissi Adjabeng, a law lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, noted that sodomy was one of the criminal offences in the statute books of the country which was punishable.

He however indicated that sodomy, which was unnatural, was in three forms and that if the act was carried out without the person' s consent, that was a first degree felony, which was criminal, adding that "what is criminalizing is having the carnal knowledge."

It is a fine opportunity for us to find out how the law works, if the act were not consensual, then it must be condemned in no uncertain terms, the law lecturer stated.

The arrest of the three alleged gay persons comes two days after Ghanaian president John Evans Atta Mills called off the bluff of British Prime Minister David Cameron that the United Kingdom would cut aid to African countries which abuse the rights of gay citizens.

Mills on Wednesday stated that under no circumstances would Ghana kowtow to demands to respect the rights of gays and lesbians.

"As far as I remain the president, I will never initiate or support any attempt to legalize homosexuality in this country," he said.

The Ghanaian president's sharp rebuttal to the British prime minister had received massive support among the clergy, ordinary people and the country's legislators.