Ghana’s Embassy in Washington, D.C. has expressed disappointment at Lincoln University’s decision to cancel an investiture event honouring President John Dramani Mahama over concerns with Ghana’s anti-LGBTQ+ stance.
The event was scheduled for Thursday, with the cancellation coming at the ‘eleventh hour’, with the Embassy describing the timing as deeply troubling and calling for a resolution grounded in the historic ties between Ghana and the university.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, the Embassy revealed that it had received a communication from Lincoln University just hours earlier, indicating that a group within the institution had raised concerns about Mahama’s perceived position on Ghana’s Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill — a piece of legislation currently before Parliament.
“It is therefore both surprising and regrettable that, just hours ago, the Embassy received a communication from the University indicating that concerns had been raised by a group regarding President Mahama’s perceived position on Ghana’s Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, currently before Parliament,” the Embassy said.
According to the Embassy, all arrangements for the March 26 visit, including the conferment of an honorary doctorate on the President, had already been fully concluded.
Embassy officials and Lincoln University representatives had conducted a joint walkthrough of the venue and finalised every logistical and programmatic detail just the previous week.
The Embassy also noted that President Mahama had already left Ghana and arrived in New York in anticipation of honouring the University’s invitation when the concerns were communicated.
It also placed on record that the visit had been accepted in good faith following an official invitation from an institution with deep historical ties to Ghana, including its distinguished association with Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s founding President and a Lincoln University alumnus.
Lincoln University subsequently posted a notice on its website cancelling the visit entirely, describing the development only as “unforeseen circumstances”.
According to the University in its earlier announcement of the honour, the conferment was “in recognition of” President Mahama’s “outstanding contributions to public service, democratic governance, peaceful international and inter-African relationships, and global advocacy for justice, equality, and education.”
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com