‘Many people are fearful for their lives and safety'

Opening of community space in Accra, which was quickly closed, has been the trigger for new anti-LGBT+ action

- Emmanuel Akinwotu HO

‘All I wanted to do was help vulnerable people,” said Shaun Apong, tears streaking down his face, from behind the bars of a squalid police cell in Ho City in eastern Ghana.

Apong was one of 21 people who were arrested in early June, charged with unlawful assembly and accused of spreading an LGBT+ agenda, amid a marked and sudden increase in sensitivities around the rights and advocacy of gay and queer people in the West African country.

For years, Apong (not his real name) had held training sessions for paralegals, activists and care workers on how to support vulnerable groups. “We were never afraid to conduct the training because we aren’t breaking the law,” he said.

Apong and the others were arrested during a training session after journalists called the police. “They were acting as if we were criminals caught in the crime,” he said, with the reporters harassing attendants and taking pictures of their faces. Pamphlets and books, such as one encouraging parents of LGBT+ people to love their children despite their sexuality, were held up as evidence of a “gay agenda”.

The accused were repeatedly denied bail for three weeks before being released at the end of June pending a trial. Many, including Apong, are now in secret safe houses outside the city. With each week, the toll of the ongoing case mounts, under the glare of national attention.

Ho has been the scene of a landmark trial that has caught national attention in Ghana – and upended the lives of those involved.