Anti-gay bill: It'll only take a miracle for it to become law under Akufo-Addo — Martin Kpebu 

Lawyer and human rights activist Martin Kpebu has expressed skepticism about the likelihood of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill of 2021, widely known as the anti-gay bill, becoming law.

Despite being passed by Parliament, the bill faces significant legal and procedural hurdles.

Kpebu highlighted the constrained timeline the Supreme Court has to rule on the bill's constitutionality. Given the legal schedule for the year, he noted that the Supreme Court might not have sufficient time to decide on the case before President Akufo-Addo can assent to the bill.

"It will only take a miracle for it to become law. Lawyers are going on vacation and will only deal with emergency cases. This gay bill does not qualify as an emergency case. The court will resume hearings after mid-October, but there are still quite a number of steps to take before the court reaches a decision. Practically, this bill is not likely to become law," Kpebu explained.

Recently, the Supreme Court deferred its ruling on whether Parliament had the authority to transmit the anti-gay bill to the Presidency for it to be signed into law, adding further uncertainty to its future.