As cultures and human institutions evolve to incorporate the very crust of societal norms once regarded as awkward, some form of resistance always rises up to rebel against what would eventually become inevitable.
In Ghana, society has come to accept the activities of the LGBTQ community and has managed to incorporate their activities into everyday life.
The country is reported to be looking at legislation in some forms to insulate and cushion members of the LGBTQ Community from any form of attack and abuse.
However, this plan does not seem to go down well with a group of rogue classes that have grown to be known as Safety Empire.
The group which is fast-growing into a nationwide movement has come to be known as an Anti-LGBTQ sect that focuses on attacking members of the LGBTQ community.
Their modus operandi is to name and shame members of the LGBTQ Community in Ghana by employing any of the following including threats with muscled men, public ridicule, preventing those who identify themselves as members of LGBTQ access to public and private facilities, torture, lynching and sometimes mob injustice.
Safety Empire has come to be known by many as a Kangaroo Court that serves as judge, jury, prosecution and executioner at the same time. They take no prisoners and have made it a point to torment anyone who identifies as LGBTQ.
To the originators of the group, the world cannot condone the activities of the LGBTQ Community and it was in their “right” to ensure that they weed out such crop of people from the society using any means necessary.
What is worrying about the who issue is that membership of Safety Empire is made up of people from all walks of life including unseen politicians and law enforcement agencies, therefore, very little can be done to seek redress for victims of this rogue group.
Apart from causing fear and panic among the growing community of LGBTQ members, Safety Empire also turns its searchlight on individuals, groups and local human rights bodies who speak against theur unlawful activities.
According to reports, anyone who advocates for members of the LGBTQ Community is a great threat to society and therefore must be “silenced” so as not to give any form of voice to the LGBTQ Community.
There has been several reports of sporadic violence, attacks and injustice done against suspected LGBTQ members where some have lost lives, property, and even livelihoods.
Read below, a harrowing story just last year of how a suspected gay was beaten by some individuals. This was shared by a victim who later escaped from an attack on him.
The saddest story of Nana Yaw Sarpong suspected to be Gay;
Sometime in September, 2021, while on my way to work, a group five young men stopped me along the way and began hauling insults and calling me all manner of despicable names.
As soon as turned to ask why the name calling and insults, a heavy slap landed on my cheeks and by they time I could gather my thoughts around what was happening to me, all of the five young men were on me, kicking and beating me like a common criminal.
What was my crime?
It had been reported to them that I’m gay, and so they ought to put the “fear of God” in me.
The saddest thing is the fact that there were people, both young and old, who were standing aside and urging those guys assault me.
This wasn’t the first that I have been attacked as I have gone through similar experiences many times in past, but this particular attack has indeed put the “fear of God” in me as I no long feel safe in my own country, Ghana.
I have relocated to about 5 places already between January to December, last year. Yet no matter where I run to the threat on my life and the actual attacks keeps getting worse.
Another unfortunate thing is that the police doesn’t seem to care at all about the plights of LGBTQ+ people in Ghana as all my numerous complaints to them have gone on deaf ears.”