DAY 246 | Burkina Faso becomes 32nd African country to outlaw homosexuality

The anti-colonial rhetoric serves to mask authoritarian practices, including repression of dissent and tight control of the press.

Burkina Faso is 32nd of Africa's 54 countries banning homosexuality

Burkina Faso has passed a new law banning homosexuality this week, with penalties of up to five years in prison making it the latest African state to crack down on same-sex relations.

The military junta-run state proposed the ban in 2024, announcing a ban on homosexual acts, but it was never outlawed. 

Justice Minister Edasso Rodrigue Bayala said the junta’s cabinet had approved legislation to make it a punishable offence, but he did not give further details.

Now law, issued by the transitional parliament, it introduces prison terms of two to five years and fines for those convicted of same-sex relations.

Foreign nationals found guilty under the law will also face deportation.

Justice Minister Edasso Rodrigue Bayala said on national broadcaster RTB: “The law provides for a prison sentence of between two and five years as well as fines.”

He continued: “If a person is a perpetrator of homosexual or similar practices, all the bizarre behaviour, they will go before the judge.”

32 of Africa’s 54 countries ban homosexuality

The military seized power in Burkina Faso in 2022 and now joins 31 other African nations outlawing homosexuality.

About 64% of Burkina Faso’s population is Muslim, while 26% identify as Christian. The remaining 10% practice traditional beliefs or report no religion.

Neighbouring state Mali, also under military rule, adopted a similar law in late 2024. 

Ghana and Uganda have recently introduced stricter anti-gay measures, with Uganda imposing life sentences and even the death penalty in certain cases.

Military coup and authoritarian practises

Captain Ibrahim Traoré, a 36-year-old army officer, has led Burkina Faso since seizing power in September 2022, ousting fellow coup leader Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba.

Initially sworn in under a transition charter that promised elections by mid-2024, Traoré has since extended the timetable, with polls now postponed until 2029. 

The move consolidates his authority while raising concerns about a return to civilian rule in a country that has endured two coups in less than a year.

Traoré has positioned himself as the face of a new, defiant Burkina Faso, openly rejecting France’s long-standing influence in West Africa.

His government expelled French troops fighting Jihadists in the region, dissolved partnerships seen as vestiges of colonial domination, and shifted alliances toward Russia and neighbouring juntas in Mali and Niger.

Critics argue that the anti-colonial rhetoric serves to mask authoritarian practices, including repression of dissent and tight control of the press.

Sources: attitude.co.uk, Aaron Sugg; DPN, September 2, 2025

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