According to a recent report on News 24, the government of The Gambia said on Tuesday that it would neither decriminalise homosexuality nor review its anti-homosexuality laws. The government of The Gambia said this via a statement as a response to widely circulated rumours of plans to soften homosexuality laws, and after weeks of pressure on the government to respond to apparently pro-gay social media posts from the European Union’s delegation in the country.
The Government spokesman, Ebrima Sankareh said, “This is false political propaganda orchestrated to score cheap political points.” He added that the government continues to be guided by “the norms of its people” and “has no plans to either decriminalise or even entertain a review of laws on homosexuality”.
Ousainu Darboe, an ex-foreign minister who is also the leader of the United Democratic Party, spoke out against decriminalization in a televised statement on Sunday. “Homosexuality cannot be decriminalised in this country … No matter what,” he said.
The initial rumour about plans by the government of The Gambia to decriminalize homosexuality resulted from posts uploaded by the EU delegation in The Gambia on May 17, the international day against homophobia, transphobia and biphobia. The posts urged that gay people not be excluded from society and this spurred speculation that the EU would seek to tie aid funds to protecting LGBT rights, prompting uproar from religious leaders and opposition politician.
In the former British colony, The Gambia, sex between men, sex between women, and the gender identity/expression of trans people are criminalized, with a penalty of life imprisonment, vigilante torture, beatings, and/or death if caught. According to Human Dignity Trust, In April 2018, the Chairperson of the Coalition media team in the West Coast Region, Essa Dampha said that President Adama Barrow’s UK statement on LGBT was misunderstood. He said Barrow was just trying to say Gambia is not interested in issues of same-sex-marriage because LGBT is not a problem in the country as the West may think it is. He added “The reality is that this government will continue to guarantee the rights and freedom of every Gambian but when it comes to gay issues, I do not think any genuine Gambian will come out on the streets and start advocating for gay rights.”
