Actors Idris Elba and Michaela Coel and supermodel Naomi Campbell joined forces with other influential names in fashion, film and media to show their solidarity with the LGBTQ ‘family’ in an open letter with the comment #GhanaSupportsEquality.
This comes after a raid on the recently opened community center in Accra called ‘LGBT + Rights Ghana’. Center chief Alex Kofi Donkor told CNN last Thursday that he was concerned about his safety.
Among the 67 signatories to the letter are Vogue’s British editor-in-chief Edward Enninful, Netflix’s chief marketing officer, Bozoma Saint John, and Virgil Abloh, Off White’s chief executive and artistic director at Louis Vuitton.
“To our Ghanaian LGBTQIA + family: we see you and we hear you. We are amazed at your strength, your courage and your audacity to be true to who you are, even if it is dangerous to do so,” he said. the letter.
“You are loved, you are important and you deserve a safe place to come together in your shared experience.”
Referring to the raid in the center, the celebrities said they had been watching the events in recent weeks with ‘deep concern’.
“It is unacceptable to us that you feel unsafe,” the letter added.
The celebrities, who promised to keep abreast of developments regarding the LGBTQ community in Ghana, also promised to protect them by using their shared power and influence.
“Neither the February 24 raid nor any other acts of intimidation have the power to break your untamed spirits. It encourages us all to act with more urgency and intent,” the letter reads.
They then called on Akufo-Addo, as well as political and cultural leaders, to “conduct a meaningful and purposeful dialogue” with the community to “create a path for alliance, protection and support”.
LGBTQ Center Attack
A Ghanaian police (GPS) spokesman told CNN on Saturday that the opening of the center was in violation of the country’s gay laws and general views on homosexual activities in Ghana.
“To the extent that Ghanaian legislation criminalizes certain actions promoted by LGBTQI +, and the Ghanaian society largely abhors it, no one expects any individual or group to set up such an office or center,” Superintendent Sheilla Abayie said. -Buckman, the GPS director of Public Affairs, said.
Abayie-Buckman said security forces stormed the non-profit rental center after a complaint from the owner, who feared his building was ‘threatened with being burned for alleged illegal purposes’.
“Our search showed that it was used for or in connection with the business of LGBTQ. With no person in the house, it was locked for the residents to report to the police to answer questions,” she added.
Abayie-Buckman told CNN that no arrests had been made in connection with the police’s findings.
“No one has owned either. The place is under police surveillance,” she said.
The police spokesperson responded to the question of whether the residents of the LGBTQ center would be arrested if they showed up for questioning, saying: “It depends on what the investigation would determine.”
In a statement sent to CNN on Monday, the LGBT + Rights Ghana group said: “We are law-abiding citizens of Ghana who have not committed any illegal acts. Once our security is guaranteed, we are prepared to accept the invitation of the police for questioning. “
The group said the center was set up to support the vulnerable LGBTQ community in Ghana, which had endured years of discrimination and persecution.
“On January 31, we opened a safe space to support Ghanaian LGBTQI + people who are abused, discriminated against or neglected by their families,” the statement said. “Shortly afterwards, we received threats and attacks from various sources.”
“Traditional leaders in Kwabenya, the area in which our office is located, have threatened to burn down the office,” he said.
The group said none of the people who made the threats were arrested by police.
“Instead, police officers, a representative of our landlord, traditional leaders and other people entered our office on February 24 without our permission. Alex Kofi Donkor, our executive director, left the premises to a safe house.”