‘My account was compromised’ — Afenyo-Markin disowns viral anti-gay bill post

Minority Leader and Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has distanced himself from a social media post criticising Ghana’s Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, describing the publication as fake and claiming that his account had been compromised.

The post, which circulated widely on social media on Tuesday, appeared to show Afenyo-Markin publicly opposing the controversial legislation, popularly known as the anti-gay bill.

In the now-deleted post, the Minority Leader argued that laws should not criminalise individuals based on their sexual orientation or personal relationships.

“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,” the post read.

The comments quickly gained attention and sparked debate online, with many users sharing screenshots of the statement amid ongoing discussions surrounding the passage of the bill by Parliament.

However, shortly after the post was removed, a new message appeared on Afenyo-Markin’s Facebook page disowning the earlier publication.

“Kindly disregard this post. Account was compromised,” the Minority Leader wrote.

Parliament passed the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, on May 29 after considering a number of amendments. The legislation seeks to criminalise LGBTQ-related activities in Ghana, although exemptions were introduced for legal practitioners, journalists, media organisations, and medical professionals performing their professional duties.

The bill continues to generate intense public debate, with supporters arguing that it protects Ghanaian cultural and family values, while critics contend that it could infringe on fundamental human rights and freedoms.