Two men outed on social media and arrested for gay sex in Ghana

The Ghanaian media has sensationally reported that two men have been arrested after having consensual sex in a hotel.

According to Daily Guide, the 28 year-old and 18-year-old booked into a hotel room in Accra on Sunday evening. The receptionist is said to have “became suspicious of their movements and demeanour” and somehow “chanced upon the 28-year-old man having carnal knowledge of the 18-year-old”.

The moment was apparently caught on camera (presumably by the receptionist), and pictures of the men having sex were posted on Facebook. There have, however, been suggestions that the men, who are clearly visually identifiable, may have been forced into simulating sex and then being photographed.

The authorities were called and the couple were arrested by the Kaneshie Police and remain in custody. To add a salacious element to the story, the younger partner was identified as a “Senior High School (SHS) student”.

Despite being over the age of 18, the Daily Guide attempted to suggest that the relationship was a case of predatory child abuse. It claimed that it had received reports that the older man “is a known gay activist, who lures young boys with money”.

The newspaper added: “He reportedly met the SHS boy on Facebook and managed to lure him by offering juicy gifts to him.”

Gay sex, described in the penal code as “Unnatural Carnal Knowledge”, is illegal in Ghana and carries a sentence of three years in prison. The country has been plagued by a series of vigilante mob attacks against LGBT people in recent years. In May 2014, it was claimed that a group of youths killed a man they accused of being gay in Accra.

Last year, it was reported that visitors arriving at the Accra International Airport are greeted with a sign urging “sexual deviants” to turn around. “Ghana imposes extremely harsh penalties on sexually abhorrent behaviour. If you are in Ghana for such activity, then for everybody’s good, including your own, we suggest you go elsewhere,” reads the sign.