Anti Gay Advocacy: Youth Leader Chased By Angry Area Boys

Gambo Osmanu, a youngman believed to be a gay practitioner was in the early morning of Monday, chased away  by the youth of Sabo Zongo, a Muslim community in the Ablekuma Central Municipality of the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.

The suspect, a businessman who doubles as a youth chief of the area , was caught having same sex intercourse with his male partner in his room, in the Muslim dominated community.

He was alleged to be secretly  practicing homosexuality with one Abdullah, an act which is frowned upon by the Islamic and Ghanaian laws respectively.

According to an eye witness, the suspect who is a known youth chief in the community has being under the surveillance of the youth and community leaders for sometime now due to his actions and his gay styled conducts.

Gambo Usmanu is said to have  denied  his gay orientation anytime he is approached by the community and youth leaders.

He always claimed his innocence until he was caught in that abominable act, this afternoon.

The witness who pleaded for anonymity said that Gambo Usmanu was caught red handed making same sex love with his partner in his room .

The two,  were brought out by the youth and mercilessly beaten. The source said they were beaten with items such as sticks, stones as well as other  offensive and sharp objects like knife, iron rods, broken bottles amongst other things.  

The eye witness pointed out that he was there and saw everything with his naked eyes when Gambo Usmanu and his partner were dragged out and publicly tortured by the angry youth. 

On whether there was an attempt to rescue the two from being manhandled by the youth, the witness said no one can dare rescue or plead for them because “we are all afraid the youth will vent their anger on us”.

“They might even accused us of either supporting gay practice to gain roots in the country or we are gay practitioners ourselves, hence pleading for leniency for them”, he added.

He stated further that “even though I do not support gay practice but I hate the way and manner Gambo Usmanu and his gay partner were badly tortured by the youth but who am I to ask them to stop, they would have beaten me  as well.

He said on many occasions suspected  homosexuals and supporters were often attacked and beaten by anti gay youth groups in the Municipality.

Sabon Zongo is a known Muslim community in Accra where gay practice and advocacy and other social vices like alcoholism, arm robbery, smoking , prostitution amongst others  are not permitted . 

The youth were calling the two male partners names like traitors to Islam, disgraced human beings , shameless fools and destroyers as they were been tortured.

One of them said people like these traitors deserved to be killed in order not to spoil our younger ones and community at large with their abominable and dirty activities. 

He however pointed out that Gambo Usmanu was able to escape from his attackers and left his partner behind who was later whisked away by the angry youth. 

Though, he was given a hot chase by his pursuers , but they couldn’t get him.

As to whether he knew where the partner was whisked away to, the source was of the  suspicion  that he might have been taken to the police station or to  the office of the Grand Mufti of the community for further punishment .   

When this reporter followed up to the family  residence of the runaway Gambo Usmanu, Mrs. Comfort Amoakoah, the mother of the suspect confirmed the violent attack on her son and his suspected gay partner. 

She said until that afternoon’s physical attack on her son’s life, she never believed her son was a gay practitioner because he has always denied been a gay anytime he was approached by her parents and other family heads about rumours surrounding his sexual orientation.

She said although she wasn’t around when the attack on her son occurred, she heard  of it from another family member.

“I am a Christian and do not support gay practice but mob justice must be stopped, she said”.

“We must desist from taken the laws into our own hands”, she lamented.

On what would be her family’s reaction to the violent attack on her son’s life, Mrs. Comfort Amoakoah said she doesn’t think there is anything the family can do  particularly because the attack revolves around homosexuality, an illegal act in Ghana.

“We cannot report the sad incident to the police because gay practice is illegal in Ghana and I don’t even think the police will even listen to our case. Madam Comfort, who was tight-lipped on the whereabouts of her son was however glad that he was able to escape.