A video has surfaced of now Minority Leader Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin boldly stating his opinion on Ghana’s Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, commonly known as the anti-LGBTQ bill.
According to Afenyo-Markin, he personally does not think somebody claiming to be gay or lesbian should go to jail.
In the viral resurfaced video, Afenyo-Markin was spotted speaking in an interview with TV3, boldly stating, “Personally, I don’t think that somebody claiming to be gay or lesbian should go to jail by virtue of that.”
Meanwhile, another video of Minority Leader Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, when he was then Deputy Majority Leader, has come back to bite him hard.
In the viral resurfaced video, in February 2024, the Deputy Majority Leader argued against the custodial punishment in the anti LGBTQ Bill.
According to Afenyo-Markin, jailing people who are homosexual would even make them worse off.
Speaking on the floor of parliament during the consideration of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Bill (anti-gay bill) in February 2024 argued, “To jail a person for his sexuality or her sexuality would not be the solution in maintaining our Ghanaian family values and ensuring proper human sexual rights, Mr Speaker, in the least, such individuals who get into our jails become worse off.
“Mr Speaker, as a law student in my final year at Makola, upon visiting Nsawam with my colleagues, it became clear that inmates were being sodomized. It became clear that people were rather getting deeper into that habit and that behavioural aspect of our culture that we dislike,” he argued.
Afenyo-Markin urged Parliament not to go on with the consideration of the bill, adding, “I dare say, Mr Speaker, that will be retrogressing should we insist as a House on a third reading with these incarceration provisions in the bill.”
It will be recalled that Parliament on Friday, May 30, passed the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, with several amendments.
Under the new bill, a person who provides legal advice or legal representation to persons identified as LGBTQ+ is exempt from sanctions.
Also, Journalists and media organisations reporting on LGBTQ+ issues in the course of their professional duties are also protected.
It further exempted medical professionals, including those providing surgical, psychological and counselling services to LGBTQ+ persons, from punishment.
The videos have resurfaced at a time when Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, in recent times, although there is video evidence of his comments, has denied posting a social media post criticising Ghana’s Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, commonly known as the anti-LGBTQ bill.
According to Afenyo-Markin, the public must disregard the post claiming that his account was compromised.
In the claimed compromised post, which has now been deleted, Afenyo-Markin stated that laws should not criminalise individuals based on their sexual orientation or personal relationships.
The post read, “A law that imprisons people for their sexual orientation or who they choose to love does not protect society. It simply selects a group of human beings and makes their existence a crime. That is a line no Parliament in the civilised world should cross”.
However, after the post was removed, Afenyo-Markin stated, “Kindly disregard this post. Account was compromised”.
Watch the video below:
#Throwback: "Jailing people for their sexuality won't be a solution in maintaining family values" – Afenyo-Markin, February 19, 2024#JoyNews #Ghana #JoyFM pic.twitter.com/xNPSZs9xO9
— JoyNews (@JoyNewsOnTV) June 2, 2026
