Editorial: A not so absolute independence for Ghana

Mashilo Mnisi (BTM Editor)

March 9, 2007: Yes, according to the mainstream society, Ghana this year indeed celebrates fifty years of independence after which the country overthrew the white colonial hegemony and oppression in 1957 on 6 March.

But it will be construed as total independence of that country if its entire people are equals. But that’s not the case in Ghana.

Just in late last year Ghana intensified laws against homosexuals cracking down on and denying them rights, and that augmented troubles for them in that country where some gay leaders had to flee.

Gays and lesbians in Ghana are unlikely to cherish the freedom attained inasmuch as they’re still fighting government for their independence.

On the commemoration day in which the highly gay-phobic leaders such as Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe enthralled audience by their speeches, the only gay organisation in Ghana – the Gay and Lesbian Association of Ghana, chose to take the back seat because they felt they were not part of the celebration.

Instead, they were campaigning and protesting for their liberation in their country of birth.

The leaders of countries in this continent should be cautioned. Perhaps their discrimination and abomination of minority communities in the continent contribute towards the ubiquitous famine, economic instability and the civil wars.