Edem Senanu, Chairman of Advocates for Christ, has raised concerns over how Parliament allowed procedural and drafting issues to surface after passing the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, calling the situation alarming.
Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express on Tuesday, Senanu noted that the bill’s successful passage for a second time shows that a broad national consensus on the issue still exists. He pointed out that many had expected the bill to struggle after the legislative process had to restart due to the expiration of the previous Parliament.
“The positive is that passing the bill a second time shows that unanimity has always been there,” he said. “Starting over again, one might have thought it would get stuck, but completing it twice proves there is general consensus.”
Despite this, Senanu expressed concern over recent questions about parliamentary procedure, including issues related to quorum and adherence to required legislative steps.
“What troubles me is how the House of Procedures and Records—if I may call it that—could fail to notice that certain steps weren’t followed or that quorum wasn’t met. That raises alarms for me.”
The bill has sparked fresh debate due to procedural concerns and remarks from political leaders regarding the next steps before presidential assent.
Senanu also raised substantive issues with the latest version of the bill, particularly regarding exemptions. He said these provisions worry him and, in his view, would have warranted further scrutiny even if the bill had reached the President.
“Even if it had gone to the President, under Article 106, there’s at least one exemption involving mental health organizations that is not tightly worded,” he explained. He warned that the current language creates a loophole that could allow the spread of problematic information.
He called on Parliament to clarify the provisions to avoid legal uncertainty and future court disputes. “We need to qualify the type of information being referred to so that intent can be clearly established in any legal case.”
While expressing confidence that the bill is nearly complete, Senanu urged both Parliament and the Presidency to quickly resolve the outstanding issues. “They need to get their house in order, resolve the few matters, and move on.”
He concluded that the current concerns—whether about quorum, process, or poorly crafted exemptions—should have been addressed much earlier in the process. “These are concerns we will need to address,” he said.
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