The military government in Burkina Faso has approved a law banning homosexuality and introducing penalties of up to five years in prison.
The draft legislation was unanimously adopted by 71 unelected members of a transitional parliament formed after two coups in 2022 in the West African nation.
“The law provides for a prison sentence of between two and five years as well as fines,” Justice Minister Edasso Rodrigue Bayala said on national broadcaster RTB.
“If a person is a perpetrator of homosexual or similar practices, all the bizarre behaviour, they will go before the judge,” he stated, adding that foreign nationals would be deported under the new rules.
The legislation is part of a broader reform of family and citizenship laws and will be “popularised through an awareness campaign,” according to officials.
Burkina Faso now joins a growing list of African nations passing anti-gay laws, with homosexuality already illegal in around 30 African countries.
Mali, a close ally also under military rule, criminalised homosexuality in November 2024.
Similarly, Ghana and Uganda have tightened anti-homosexuality laws in recent years despite widespread criticism.
In Uganda, a controversial law categorises “aggravated homosexuality” as a capital offense and allows life imprisonment for consensual same-sex relationships.
