The Supreme Court of Ghana ruled on Wednesday that attorneys contesting the legality of an anti-LGBT bill must revise their motions because their arguments contained demeaning language and postponed the case.
Lawyers Amanda Odoi and Richard Skye filed separate objections to the bill, aiming to proclaim its illegality and block the president from signing it.
However, Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo stated that the plaintiffs and lawyers should revise their motions and exclude any "inappropriate," "intemperate," and "scandalous" language in order to demonstrate courtesy.
She added that amendments must be submitted by May 17. The date for the new meeting has not yet been announced.
In late February, Ghana's parliament passed a bill that criminalizes LGBT people as well as advocates for LGBT rights.
In March, President Akufo-Addo stated that he would postpone consideration of the measure, citing a challenge filed by a citizen in the High Court. Later that month, MP Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor filed a mandamus petition to compel the president to act on the anti-LGBT bill within seven days. The lawsuit was, however, dismissed by the High Court in late April.
Apart from that, Ghana's finance ministry warned that the president's signing of the bill could cost the country $3.8 billion in financing from international banks over the next five to six years.
* The "LGBT movement" is classified as extremist by the Russian authorities and is banned in Russia.