Gboko Stewart & Ibrahim Kaba
Monrovia-A bill targeting Liberia’s underground LGBTQ+ community has surfaced in the legislature, according to FrontPage Africa.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Johnson N. Williams, a newly-minted lawmaker of River Gee County, calls for tougher punishment for anyone caught practicing homosexuality.
The introduction of the bill comes against a viral video on social media that shows two Liberian men in the United States engaging in fellatio.
Titled Anti-Homosexuality Law of Liberia 2024, the bill, when passed, will amend chapter 14 of the Penal Code of Liberia.
Chapter 14 of the Penal Code of 1976 considers same sex sexual acts a “voluntary sodomy”with the classification of a misdemeanor and carries a punishment of one year imprisonment.
In his communication to the Plenary of the lower house, according to FrontPage Africa, Rep. Williams highlighted that his bill is against same sex marriage and the promotion of any kind of same-sex relationships in the country.
“This draft bill, when passed into law, will fulfill Article 5(b) of the 1986 Liberian Constitution, which states that ‘the Republic shall preserve, protect, and promote positive Liberian culture ensuring that traditional values compatible with public and national progress are adopted and developed as an integral part of the growing needs of the Liberian society,” stated a communication from Rep. Williams as quoted by FrontPage Africa.
FrontPage Africa furthered that Rep. Williams’ bill was sent to the joint committees on Gender, Health and Judiciary with a mandate to report to the plenary of the House in two weeks.
LGBTQI+ persons continued to record instances of assaults, stigmatization, discrimination, harassment, and hate speech by community members. The 2023 US State Department report on the country continues to highlight instances of assault and abuse against the LGBT community.
In May 2021, members of a community watch team allegedly beat three men on suspicion they were gays in the Gobachop community of Paynesville. According to two of the survivors, the community watch members threatened the three men and assaulted them, rendering one of the men unconscious.
In June 2021, Nuchie Michael, a teenager and a student at the St. Matthew United Methodist School in New Kru Town was expelled for cross-dressing. In 2020, Cheeseman Cole, a disgraced ex-soldier from the Armed Forces of Liberia was arrested for reportedly brutalizing 27 men suspected of being gay.
In November 2019, partygoers were stoned and beaten over suspicions they were attending a gay wedding at an event hosted by Population Services International (PSI).
In September 2018, invitees at a PSI event in Sinkor were attacked and severely brutalized.
The LGBT community faces worse discrimination as they are often blamed by religious leaders for spreading deadly diseases in the country.
Identifying as gay is not illegal in Liberia. But it could spur violent attacks against a person that does so. In May 2020, fashion model Tarus Cole fled the country over remarks that ‘99% of Liberian men are gay.’
Liberian law criminalizes same-sex sexual acts. Articles 14.74, 14.79, and 50.7 [of the Penal Code of 1976] consider “voluntary sodomy” as a first-degree misdemeanor, with a penalty of up to one-year imprisonment.
Liberia’s gay community saw a glimmer of hope that they might make progress in achieving rights in 2012 when Hillary Clinton, then US Secretary of State, announced that “gay rights are human rights” and aid would be tied to how countries treat sexual minorities.
“…being LGBT does not make you less human. And that is why gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights,” Secretary Clinton said.
That hope was soon dampened when President Sirleaf, in an interview with the Guardian, defended the current law which criminalizes homosexuality.
Sirleaf later backpedaled on her earlier remarks in an interview alongside former Irish President Mary Robinson, saying, incorrectly, that no law criminalizes homosexuality in Liberia.
Rep. Johnson N. Williams’ bill is part of a series of failed attempts in recent years by some lawmakers who have unsuccessfully sought to target the LGBTQ+ community in Liberia.
Then, Jewel Howard Taylor, former first lady, Senator, and later Vice-President, introduced a bill to make homosexuality a first-degree felony. That bill also did not pass.
Former Lofa County Representative, Clarence Massaquoi, sought to criminalize same-sex sexual acts when he introduced a bill in 2018. Rep. Massaquoi’s bill failed to gain traction in the lower house. He lost his re-election bid in the 2023 general and presidential elections.
In May 2020, former Grand Bassa County Representative, Vincent Willie, introduced the “Anti Gay” Bill on the floor of the Lower House, according to LEGAL Association of Liberia, a human rights organization. That bill did not pass and, like Rep.Massaquoi, he also lost his seat during the 2023 general and presidential elections.
What’s in the bill?
According to FrontPage Africa, the bill outlines that a person is guilty of aggravated homosexuality if the offense is committed under specific conditions, including, the offense is committed against a child; offender is a parent, guardian, or relative of the victim; victim contracts a terminal illness as a result of the sexual act; offender is a serial offender and offender is in a position of authority over the victim.
It further outlines that the victim is a person with a disability or suffers a disability as a result of the sexual act; the victim has a mental illness or contracts one due to the sexual act and the victim is of advanced age (75 years and above); the sexual act is committed through threats, force, fear of bodily harm, duress, undue influence, intimidation, or misrepresentation of the act and the victim was unconscious or in an altered state of consciousness due to the influence of drugs at the time of the offense.
LGBTQ+ Community Antsy
As news of Rep. Williams’s bill hovers, fear has gripped the LGBTQ+ community in the country because it draws parallels to the situation in Ghana and Uganda.
The two countries recently passed some of the toughest laws on the continent that target their LGBTQ+ populations, drawing the ire of the international community.
For many Liberians and foreigners in Liberia who identify as lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders, the recent move in the House of Representatives strikes fear.
There’s no data on the number of Liberians who identify as LGBTQ+. In a recent interview with journalRAGE, the program manager of the National AIDS Control Program, Dr. Jonathan Flomo, said there are about 70,000 men who sleep with men in the country. The numbers, he said, were culled from the Integrated Behavioral and Biological Surveillance Survey (IBBSS) done in 2018.
One of those is Abishola Okechukwu, a Nigerian trans woman living downtown Monrovia who moved to Liberia to be free of constant harassment in her country.
“This new law they are trying to pass is very bad and wrong for us. Compared to Nigeria where I am from, I prefer Liberia because you are not harassed in the manner they do in Lagos and other places,” said Abishola, 29, whose name has been changed to protect her identity.
Abishola’s fears are not alone. Others like Amos Brown, 29, and Ricks Kollie, 30, gay partners, are contemplating on absconding the country to be free.
“They want us to leave the country. W are exploring ways to leave Liberia because our government wants to legalize and justify them murdering us.”
The duo, who have been in a partnership for a little over three years, said they no longer feel safe in the sweet land of liberty.
“Liberia is not for us gay people o. The same nonsense they did in Ghana and Uganda, that’s the same thing they want to do to us here.”
Activists Express Concerns
Rep. Johnson N. Williams’ bill is also raising concerns amongst human rights organizations who see this recent move as targeting the LGBTQ+ community.
United Sisters Network of Liberia, a human rights organization and a member of the LIPRIDE coalition, say they stand firmly against any legislation that seeks to undermine the rights and freedoms of the LGBTQ+ community.
“This bill, as reported by FrontPage Africa, represents a significant step backward in our fight for equality and human rights,” a spokesperson for the organization wrote in an email to journalRAGE. “The proposed criminalization and imprisonment of individuals based on their sexual orientation or gender identity is not only a violation of basic human rights but also a threat to the safety and well-being of countless Liberians.”
The organization stated that the bill has far reaching implications and consequences for the LGBTQ+ community if passed into law.
“It will further marginalize an already vulnerable community, exacerbating stigma and discrimination in all aspects of life, including employment, healthcare, and education. LGBTQ+ individuals will face heightened risks of violence, harassment, and wrongful imprisonment. This bill is a clear violation of international human rights principles, including the right to privacy, freedom of expression, and equality before the law.”
The Liberian Health and Rights Journalists Network said they also see the recent move in the Legislature as something that will do more harm than good.
“You can’t despise anybody for who they chose to be,” a spokesperson for the organization told journalRAGE in a phone interview. “LGBT People are already targeted and passing this law will emboldened others to target them more. If you continue to target a certain group of people, there’ll be a pushback.”
Liberia is a signatory to many international conventions and treaties, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Maputo Protocol, Paris Principles and the African Charter on Human and People Rights.
While some of these treaties have not been ratified into law and adopted locally, signature to these documents imposes a commitment on the country to respect human rights.
Kutaka D. Togba, Director of Human Rights at the Ministry of Justice says the recent move in the legislature remains a sensitive issue that has to be discussed at the political levels.
“The government promised to protect all citizens so this has to be critically considered,” he said. He said his department will speak to the Independent National Human Rights Commission on the current issue at bay.
This story has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents are the sole responsibility of journalRAGE and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.
Editor’s Note: Ibrahim Kaba’s name has been changed to protect his identity.