University of Ghana Denies Changing Statutes to Promote LGBTQ+
The University of Ghana (UG) has denied changing its statutes to admit and promote LGBTQ+ activities, as alleged by Mr Moses Foh-Amoaning, a private legal practitioner.
In a statement, it emphasised that the claims by the anti-LBGTQ promoter are “entirely false, misleading and defamatory”.
“Mr Foh-Amoaning, attempt to personalise an institutional governance matter by attacking the character and integrity of the Vice-Chancellor. Such conduct is unwarranted, disrespectful and clearly in bad faith.”
It deems the action of the lawyer to be an attempt to impugn her integrity as it affirmed that the VC does not possess unilateral authority to amend University Statutes.
It therefore demanded an immediate retraction of the false statements and a public apology to the Vice-Chancellor and the University community.
“Failure to comply within a reasonable timeframe will leave the University with no option but to pursue appropriate legal remedies under Ghanaian law to protect the integrity of the institution and its leadership.”
Clarification
It clarified that the recent review of its Statutes (2024) was conducted strictly in accordance with the governance procedures prescribed by national laws and University regulations.
It noted that the revision neither departs from national law, nor do the statutes introduce any provision that endorses, promotes, or “admits” LGBTQ+ activities as alleged.
“The changes in the Statutes merely involved replacing gender specific pronouns such as “he”, “him”, “she” or “her” with gender-neutral terms such as “they” and “their”, and additional linguistic adjustments made to represent both male and female in order to eliminate the need to continuously state he or she/him or her etc. in the Statutes.”
It said the revisions are consistent with developments in the English language over the past two decades, where the singular “they/their/them” has become widely accepted in reputable academic, legal and religious texts. For instance, the 2011 New International Version (NIV) of the Bible uses “they/them” to refer to a singular antecedent, as in James 4:17: “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.”
Commitment Reaffirmation
The university in its statement reaffirmed its commitment to delivering a transformative student experience; Conducting impactful research that advances national development and global scholarship; Upholding the highest ethical, academic and professional standards; and creating an environment that is safe, respectful, inclusive and lawful for all students, faculty and staff.
Story by Hajara Fuseini
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