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How the Sister Derby-Sam George social media 'feud' started
In the last 48 hours, social media has been buzzing over leaked contents of a 36-page bill proposal by a section of Parliamentarians to criminalise LGBTQ+ acts in Ghana.
Though homosexual acts in Ghana is punishable by imprisonment and considered to be against the sociocultural and religious norms and teachings, the latest move would be one that will definitely not be welcomed by liberals.
As a result of this, Ghanaian singer, Sister Derby, and lawmaker Samuel Nartey George have been engaging in ‘war of words’ on social media platform Twitter for hours.
The Ningo Prampram MP who has not shied away from making his stance clear on ensuring that the bill is passed has been receiving backlash from a host of liberal Ghanaians on social media who believe the bill and its entirety triumphs on human rights.
In a tweet shared on Friday, July 23, 2021, Sam George wrote, “I have been overwhelmed by the massive support even here on a very 'liberal' platform like Twitter for our Bill on the LGBTQI+ menace. Homosexuality is NOT a human right. It is a sexual preference. Preferences are not absolute or unregulated. We SHALL pass this Bill through.”
In a sharp rebuttal to tweets posted by the Sam George indicating Parliament’s resolves to do all it can to pass the anti-LGBT+ bill, the popular singer sought to educate the lawmaker on how ‘dangerous’ his rhetoric on the issue was.
Sister Derby called Sam George’s fight against the LGBTQ+ as “backward and shameful”.
“You are only doing this to score political points forgetting the harm you are causing queer folk. Tell us what else you will personally gain from passing this bill if not political points??? Shame on you!” Sister Derby replied to Sam George’s tweet.
This quickly resulted in a back and forth by the two who are still responding to each other’s tweets as of the time of filing this report.
“Hopefully, when you figure out what genre of music you can succeed at, we can have a forward-looking conversation. Until then, say hi to @AmgMedikal for me. Cheers,” Sam George wrote in response to Derby's statement.
Sister Derby further called out the lawmaker once again in her response and thus pointed she considered herself as far more successful than Sam George could ever imagine.
“Just by fighting for Ghanaians whose lives YOU are endangering, I consider myself far more successful than you,” Sister Derby wrote.
While there’s an ongoing public discourse on portions of the bill proposal, the Ningo-Prampram lawmaker has reiterated that homosexuality is "not a human right but a sexual preference" hence the need to criminalise the act.
Among some of the actions contained in "The Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values, Bill 2021" proposal will see culprits face a jail term of up to ten years depending on the crime if passed in its current state.
Additionally, individuals of the same sex who engage in sexual intercourse will be “liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than seven hundred and fifty penalty units and not more than five thousand penalty units, or to a term of imprisonment of not less than three years and not more than five years or both.”
This means that any person who “holds out as a lesbian, a gay, a transgender, a transsexual, a queer, a pansexual, an ally, a non-binary or any other sexual or gender identity that is contrary to the binary categories of male and female” commits an offence.
See the tweets by Sam George and Sister Derby below:
Though homosexual acts in Ghana is punishable by imprisonment and considered to be against the sociocultural and religious norms and teachings, the latest move would be one that will definitely not be welcomed by liberals.
As a result of this, Ghanaian singer, Sister Derby, and lawmaker Samuel Nartey George have been engaging in ‘war of words’ on social media platform Twitter for hours.
The Ningo Prampram MP who has not shied away from making his stance clear on ensuring that the bill is passed has been receiving backlash from a host of liberal Ghanaians on social media who believe the bill and its entirety triumphs on human rights.
In a tweet shared on Friday, July 23, 2021, Sam George wrote, “I have been overwhelmed by the massive support even here on a very 'liberal' platform like Twitter for our Bill on the LGBTQI+ menace. Homosexuality is NOT a human right. It is a sexual preference. Preferences are not absolute or unregulated. We SHALL pass this Bill through.”
In a sharp rebuttal to tweets posted by the Sam George indicating Parliament’s resolves to do all it can to pass the anti-LGBT+ bill, the popular singer sought to educate the lawmaker on how ‘dangerous’ his rhetoric on the issue was.
Sister Derby called Sam George’s fight against the LGBTQ+ as “backward and shameful”.
“You are only doing this to score political points forgetting the harm you are causing queer folk. Tell us what else you will personally gain from passing this bill if not political points??? Shame on you!” Sister Derby replied to Sam George’s tweet.
This quickly resulted in a back and forth by the two who are still responding to each other’s tweets as of the time of filing this report.
“Hopefully, when you figure out what genre of music you can succeed at, we can have a forward-looking conversation. Until then, say hi to @AmgMedikal for me. Cheers,” Sam George wrote in response to Derby's statement.
Sister Derby further called out the lawmaker once again in her response and thus pointed she considered herself as far more successful than Sam George could ever imagine.
“Just by fighting for Ghanaians whose lives YOU are endangering, I consider myself far more successful than you,” Sister Derby wrote.
While there’s an ongoing public discourse on portions of the bill proposal, the Ningo-Prampram lawmaker has reiterated that homosexuality is "not a human right but a sexual preference" hence the need to criminalise the act.
Among some of the actions contained in "The Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values, Bill 2021" proposal will see culprits face a jail term of up to ten years depending on the crime if passed in its current state.
Additionally, individuals of the same sex who engage in sexual intercourse will be “liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than seven hundred and fifty penalty units and not more than five thousand penalty units, or to a term of imprisonment of not less than three years and not more than five years or both.”
This means that any person who “holds out as a lesbian, a gay, a transgender, a transsexual, a queer, a pansexual, an ally, a non-binary or any other sexual or gender identity that is contrary to the binary categories of male and female” commits an offence.
See the tweets by Sam George and Sister Derby below:
Source: ghanaweb.com
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