Wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation in West Africa

At least five West African countries have criminalized same-sex relations in recent months, according to activists and official records cited in a June 2026 report by AFP. Uganda set a precedent in 2023 by adopting one of the world’s harshest anti-LGBTQ laws, including the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,” the report stated.

Since then, Burkina Faso, Niger, Senegal, and Ghana have passed laws between 2025 and 2026. Of Africa’s 54 countries, only about 20 do not currently criminalize same-sex relations, the report added.

Details of new laws and penalties

Burkina Faso criminalized same-sex relations in September 2025 with prison terms of up to five years, according to the AFP report. Niger adopted a new penal code in February 2026 imposing jail terms of up to 20 years for same-sex marriage. Senegal adopted a law in March 2026 doubling sentences for same-sex relations to five to 10 years. Ghana’s parliament passed a bill in May 2026 imposing prison terms of up to three years for same-sex relations, or up to five years for “promoting” them, the report said.

The bill, titled the “Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill,” was sponsored by MP Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, according to a LifeSiteNews article published June 4, 2026 ^[1].

Political motivations behind the laws

Ugandan rights activist Agather Atuhaire told AFP that “politicians in this country know that their society is very highly homophobic, so they want something that is going to put them in their good books.” French-Senegalese expert Marame Kane said LGBT people are used as scapegoats to “deflect attention from thorny subjects.” Writer and sociologist El Hadj Souleymane Gassama noted that in debt-saddled Senegal, leaders “fell back on the one subject that draws broad unanimity, regardless of political divisions,” according to the AFP report.

Role of religion and conservative values

Religion plays a role in countries with large Muslim or Christian majorities where conservative values hold sway, the report stated. In Ghana, international relations expert Ishmael Hlovor said President Mahama faces pressure to “reconcile the very powerful domestic forces” behind the bill with international institutions such as the World Bank, according to AFP. Kane added that funding from U.S. conservative movements may have helped “precipitate” Senegal’s law.

Globally, support for LGBT rights has declined in some regions; a Public Religion Research Institute poll found a drop in support in the United States in 2023, attributed to state-level legislation and grassroots pushback ^[2].

Geopolitical context and anti-Western sentiment

Ivorian anthropologist Stephane Ballet Djedje linked the laws to mounting anti-Western sentiment, citing France’s strained ties with former West African colonies, particularly military juntas in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. He also cited a recent rise of global conservatism seeking to “restore the traditional order,” according to AFP. International reaction to the new laws has been largely muted, the report stated. The Trump administration previously vowed to end the practice of using foreign aid to influence other nations’ policies on homosexuality, a shift from the Obama-era approach ^[3].

Meanwhile, Bulgaria passed an amendment banning LGBT propaganda in schools in August 2024, reflecting similar legislative trends outside Africa ^[4].

References

1. LifeSiteNews.com. "Ghana approves family values bill prohibiting LGBT propaganda, promotion." June 4, 2026.
2. NaturalNews.com. "Support for LGBT drops as pushback increases report finds." December 18, 2023.
3. NaturalNews.com. "Trump admin vows to stop punishing countries that oppose homosexuality; LGBT activists outraged." July 31, 2018.
4. NaturalNews.com. "Bulgaria bans LGBT propaganda in preschools and schools." August 12, 2024.