The Abrahamic faiths and received colonial law have been identified as the driving force behind the criminalisation of homosexual activity in most of the Commonwealth States of Africa. This article, therefore, seeks to question the role of criminal law in proscribing sexual activities amongst consenting adults of the same gender in Commonwealth African states. A recurring question in the paper is the propriety of criminalising a consensual conduct amongst consenting adults in private when no harm or injury is done to other citizens or the state in line with JS Mill’s principle of harm. The article finds that the misconception that the main aim of criminal law is to legislate the moral values of the majority, forms support for the view that homosexuality can be learned and unlearned and if this is the case, a paternalistic approach by the state would help mould citizens’ behaviour. A comparative and case study approach was adopted for the discussion in the article. Four Commonwealth African states, namely, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda were selected as case studies. The article recommends a much more robust approach for the support of sexual minorities in the Commonwealth.

在大多数非洲联邦国家，亚伯拉罕的信仰和所接受的殖民地法律被确定为将同性恋活动定为刑事犯罪的驱动力。因此，本文试图质疑刑法在英联邦非洲各州同性同意的成年人中禁止性行为的作用。本文中反复出现的问题是，如果不按照JS Mill的伤害原则对其他公民或国家造成伤害或伤害，则在同意的成年人中私下将同意的行为定为刑事犯罪是否适当。该文章发现，关于刑法的主要目的是立法多数人的道德价值观的误解，为以下观点提供了支持：同性恋是可以学习和不学习的，如果是这样的话，国家采取家长式的态度将有助于改变公民的行为。本文采用了比较和案例研究的方法进行讨论。非洲四个英联邦国家，即加纳，肯尼亚，尼日利亚和乌干达被选为案例研究。文章建议了一种更为强大的方法来支持英联邦的性少数群体。