Ghanaian journalist Emmanuel Akyereko Frimpong has reportedly received death threats and been subjected to social media abuse after calling for freedom for gay players in the Ghana Premier League.
Akyereko, who is the editor-in-chief of Ghana Sports Publications – Ghanasportsonline.com and Ghanascoresnet.com, released a feature earlier this week to canvas for freedom for LGBTQ+ rights.
The feature title FEATURE: It’s time to see the Ghana Premier League’s first out GAY players – Establishing LGBTQ+ representation in Ghana football, generated heated controversy within the Ghanaian football space.
The journalist, who is known in media circles as The Writer, received a number of attacks after sharing his article on social media platforms – WhatsApp Groups, Facebook, and Twitter.
Followers who do not favour the idea of entertaining gay players in the Ghanaian league descended heavily on him with some cursing him and unleashing verbal abuse.
According to separate reports, some callers on a community radio station called for him to be dealt with.
Reports gathered by our team also indicate that the GTV Sports+ pundit has received calls from unknown numbers threatening his life. Furthermore, a close friend of the journalist who spoke on the condition of anonymity, claimed that some religious extremists have confronted and threatened his publication.
The reports further state that some individuals have gone to the residence of the journalist in attempts to physically threaten him but they met the absence of the journalist. Our investigations confirm that he has traveled out of the country to cover an international event.
The Ghanaian culture has been slow and hostile to LGBTQ+ rights with a recent Afrobarometer survey finding pointing out “The 93% who say they would “somewhat dislike” or “strongly dislike” having homosexual neighbours place Ghana near the top in terms of intolerance across 23 African countries surveyed between late 2019 and early 2021, well above the 80% average (Figure 8).”
