Sodomy In The News: The Gay Medical Doctor And The 16 Year-Old Student

Source: Daily Graphic http://www.graphic.com.gh

There’s a news story making its way through the Ghanaian media about a medical doctor who had sex with a senior high school student and infected him with HIV. The major legal issue is that they had sex when the boy in question was 15 and therefore under the age of consent. Currently homosexuality is one of the most controversial and sensational topics that one will find discussed in the media and by the public and usually the LGBTIQ people involved are usually young, flashy and feminine gay men who are bold enough to come forward and speak their mind. This is the first time in a long time someone considered a ‘respectable’ member of society has been involved in such a story. From what I’ve gathered through the gayvine, the doctor indeed has sex with young boys in his area and isn’t always discreet about it. He has pro-LGBT posts on his Facebook account which often makes people wonder. However one thing about being gay in Africa is that often if a gay man marries a woman and has children with her, he can be as camp as Christmas and no one would bat an eyelash and as this doctor is married with children no one paid the rumours any mind. Initially no one was sure the boy was telling the truth until the doctor admitted to a reporter on tape that he indeed had sex with the boy and didn’t want it to become public. Why he felt telling a reporter was the absolute best way to keep this secret, I’ll never know. Maybe on some level he was tired of living a double life. I once read something about one’s needs expressing themselves in extreme ways when they are suppressed and maybe that’s how he got into young boys. Maybe he’s a pedophile but I’m aware that many 15 year-olds often look a lot older and often lie about being much older. I’ve met enough young men online to know how difficult it is to tell people who are 16 from those who are 18 or sometimes even 21. Personally I don’t think the boy was infected by this doctor. Typically gay married men tend to practice safe sex even if they are tops and therefore at lower risk. With the way the hospital system works, his parents be informed of his HIV diagnosis and it seems like he looked through his black book and found the person with the most to lose. I’ve talked to enough young men to know that they often carefree about safe sex.

This is the problem with being a professional gay man in many African countries – all it takes is one whiff of homosexuality and all your work is gone. Apparently the doctor was very skilled and hardworking but no one will remember that now. But again, he made this bed himself. No one forced him to go after young boys when he could have found men who also had a stake in making sure their liaisons remained secret. The doctor has been remanded in jail pending an investigation. In all this, I pity his innocent wife and children.