Burkina Faso’s military-led government has enacted a new law criminalising same-sex relations, joining a growing list of African countries reinforcing legal prohibitions against homosexuality.
The legislation, adopted on 1 September by the transitional parliament of 71 unelected members, imposes prison terms of between two and five years, along with fines. Justice Minister Edasso Rodrigue Bayala announced the measure on state-run media, framing it as part of broader reforms to the country’s family and citizenship legislation.
“The law provides prison sentences of between two and five years plus fines,” Bayala said. He added that those suspected of engaging in homosexual or “similar” practices, as well as what he termed “all bizarre behaviour,” would face prosecution. Foreign nationals convicted under the law would also be deported.
Until now, Burkina Faso had been one of 22 African nations without laws criminalising homosexuality. The move follows a regional trend, with neighbouring Mali passing similar legislation in 2024. Nigeria, meanwhile, has enforced comparable restrictions since 2014 through the Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, which prescribes up to 14 years’ imprisonment and bans public displays of same-sex relationships. Uganda’s 2024 Anti-Homosexuality Act went even further, introducing the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” and life sentences for consensual same-sex acts, prompting the World Bank to freeze new loans and the United States to revoke preferential trade access.
In Ghana, parliament passed legislation earlier this year imposing up to three years in prison for identifying as LGBTQ+, though former President Nana Akufo-Addo withheld his signature pending a constitutional ruling.
Sierra Leone, while not recently enacting new measures, still retains a colonial-era “buggery law” under its Offences Against the Person Act of 1861, which criminalises consensual same-sex relations with penalties of up to life imprisonment. Though prosecutions have been rare in recent years, the law remains on the books, reinforcing a broader legal climate across Africa where LGBTQ+ people face systemic vulnerability and uncertainty.
Burkina Faso’s decision thus places it among a growing number of governments citing the defence of “traditional values” to justify new or existing restrictions, even as international human rights organisations warn that such measures deepen exclusion, fuel discrimination, and violate fundamental rights.
