Actors Idris Elba and Michaela Coel and supermodel Naomi Campbell joined forces with other influential names in fashion, film and the media to express their solidarity with the LGBTQ “family” in an open letter with the tag #GhanaSupportsEquality on Monday.
It happens after the newly opened community center in Accra, called ‘LGBT + Rights Ghana’, has been invaded. Center chief Alex Kofi Donkor told CNN on Thursday that he is concerned about his safety.
Among the 67 signatories to the letter are British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful, Netflix’s marketing director, Bozoma Saint John, and Virgil Abloh, executive director of Off White and artistic director of Louis Vuitton.
“To our LGBTQIA + family in Ghana: We see and hear them. We are delighted with your strength, your bravery and your audacity in being faithful to who you are, even when it is dangerous to do so,” says the letter.
“You are loved, you are important and you deserve a safe place to meet in your shared experience.”
Referring to the operation at the center, celebrities said they saw the events unfold in recent weeks with “deep concern”.
“It is unacceptable for us to feel insecure,” added the letter.
Celebrities, who have pledged to stay abreast of developments regarding the LGBTQ community in Ghana, have also pledged to protect them using their shared power and influence.
“Neither the February 24 attack nor any other acts of intimidation have the power to break your indomitable spirits. This only encourages us to act with more urgency and intention ”, the letter continued.
They then appealed to Akufo-Addo, as well as political and cultural leaders, to “engage in meaningful and meaningful dialogue” with the community to “create a path for allies, protection and support”.
Attack on the LGBTQ Center
A spokeswoman for the Ghana Police Service (GPS) told CNN on Saturday that the opening of the center was at odds with the country’s homosexual laws and the prevailing views on homosexual activities in Ghana.
“To the extent that Ghana law criminalizes certain actions promoted by LGBTQI +, and Ghanaian society abhors that, no one expects any individual or group to create such an office or center,” Superintendent Sheilla Abayie-Buckman, Director of GPS for Public Relations , said.
Abayie-Buckman said security forces broke into the rented nonprofit center after a complaint from the property owner, who feared that his building “was under fire for alleged illegal purposes”.
“Our search showed that it was being used for or related to the LGBTQ business. With no one at home, it was locked for occupants to report to the police to clarify doubts, ”he added.
Abayie-Buckman told CNN that no arrests were made in connection with the police’s findings.
“Nobody has also confessed yet. The place is under police surveillance, ”she said.
Responding whether the occupants of the LGBTQ center will be arrested if they appear for questioning, the police spokeswoman said: “It depends on what the investigation would have established.”
In a statement sent to CNN Monday, the LGBT + Rights Ghana group said: “We are law-abiding citizens of Ghana who have not committed any illegality. So, once our security is guaranteed, we are willing to honor the police’s invitation. for interrogation. “
The group said the center was established to support the vulnerable LGBTQ community in Ghana, which has endured years of discrimination and persecution.
“On January 31, we opened up a safe space to support LGBTQI + Ghanaian people who are abused, discriminated against or neglected by their families,” the statement said. “Right after that, we received threats and attacks from various parties.”
“Traditional leaders in Kwabenya, the area where our office is located, have threatened to set it on fire,” he added.
The group said that none of the people who made these threats were arrested by the police.
“Instead, on February 24, police officers, a representative of our landlord, traditional leaders and a few other people entered our office without our consent. Realizing the imminent danger, Alex Kofi Donkor, our Executive Director left the premises for a safe house. “