Ghanaian Gay Teacher Flees From Persecution

In a harrowing tale of survival and resilience, a Ghanaian gay teacher and native of a mining town in the Ashanti Region, has fled his home country to seek refuge in a foreign land after facing brutal persecution for his sexual orientation.
Kwabena Nkrumah’s journey began in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic when schools were shut down, leading the teacher to visit his brother at Akrodie in the Ahafo Region.

It was there that he encountered a male partner named Steven and they engaged in a relationship. However, their secret was soon uncovered by Steven’s brother, leading to a violent backlash from the community.

In May 2023, Nkrumah, 51, was subjected to severe beatings, leaving him unconscious and hospitalized. Fearing further threats from the community and legal repercussions from the Ghana Police Service, he made the difficult decision to flee his homeland.
Nkrumah’s crime was that he led pupils in school and was involved in homosexuality, an act which is considered alien to customs and traditions of Ghana and also to the Christian and Islamic faiths. The decision to leave followed several attacks and threats from the youth of his community.

A source familiar with the matter indicated that the vigilante group that proved his bane also spread information to other communities and to his workplace, alerting the people to be on the lookout for him.

Prior, the group sent messages to members of surrounding communities on their activities in search of Kwabena Nkrumah, known affectionately by his students as Teacher Nkrumah.