Male prostitutes practice openly in Accra

Homosexual prostitutes, who were hitherto said to be operating under cover, have now hit the streets of Accra openly soliciting for men, The Mirror investigations have revealed.

The gay harlots operate in and around Adabraka, especially the area around Henri's Place, a popular spot at Adabraka Official Town, known for hosting earring wearing men, suspected to be homosexuals. The homosexual prostitutes also operate in and around Osu and La.

This reporter visited Adabraka on the night of Saturday, June 21, and approached a young man spotting an earring, with his hair permed and cut short, standing under a street light, about two streets away from the Yellow Cab roundabout; and feigned interest in homosexual acts.

And when he was asked whether he was free to go home with this reporter for some fun, he appeared excited and readily reached for the door of the reporter's car but was asked to hold on.

When he was further asked whether he would play the role of a man or woman in bed, he said he was in to satisfy his customers so he could do anything for the patrons provided they paid him good money - a minimum of GH¢50 (or ¢500, 000).

After this reporter had caught his attention, the prostitute, who gave his name as Peter Diallo from Burkina Faso and resident at Alajo, another suburb of Accra, was asked to get another prostitute while this reporter picked up a friend nearby so they could have group sex.

But the "call man" suggested that he could handle two men at a time and advised this reporter to "forget about a second prostitute and open the door for me to sit down so we could go and pick your friend, have fun in a three-man homosexual act and pay GH¢100".

At that point this reporter insisted that the prostitute should go to Henri's Place and get another gay while the reporter also fetched the second customer. With that, this reporter finally drove off.

Later in separate interviews with some residents of Adabraka, they complained about noise pollution from Henri's Place. "They turn up the volume of the sound system so loudly that we can hardly sleep, especially on Fridays and Saturdays," one resident told The Mirror.

"At first, they used to shut the door, closed the windows and used the air conditioner while loud music was played indoors, but since electricity tariffs were increased, they have had to open the door and windows because they cannot use the air conditioners, thus the sound of the music fills the air around here".

"Sometimes, we hear loud arguments over issues such as one man snatching another's boyfriend. Some of the gay lovers also hide in corners, kiss and caress each other but our main problem is the noise pollution," the resident said.

When this reporter visited the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, another hot spot for female prostitutes, the ladies of the night were freely operating very close to what appeared to be a temporary police checkpoint.

It was quite obvious that the police officers on duty were not interested in arresting the call girls as they busily flashed their torchlights into vehicles and engaged drivers in brief chats and waved them to drive on.

At the Togo Embassy and St Thomas Aquinas Senior High School area, also a red light district, female prostitutes were seen walking up and down the street in the full glare of police officers on duty in the area.

Later when this reporter returned to Henri's Place just before midnight, the pub was bubbling with revelry. Men of all shapes and colours (including some foreigners) were seen partying in and outside the spot. Parked close to the spot were posh vehicles - four-wheel drives and sleek saloon cars, which apparently belonged to the revellers.

Under Ghanaian law, male homosexual activity is officially illegal. Criminal Code 1960 - Chapter 6, Sexual Offences Article 105:
"Whoever is guilty of unnatural carnal knowledge - (a) of any person without his consent, is guilty of first degree felony; (b) of any person with his consent, or of any animal, is guilty of a misdemeanor.”