Uganda postpones court hearing of British gay play producer

A Ugandan court has postponed legal proceedings for British theatre producer David Cecil until next year, his lawyer has said.

The 34-year-old was due in court on Thursday to face charges of ‘‘disobeying lawful orders’’ of the Uganda Media Council after refusing to let officials review his play, the River and the Mountain.

The play, whose main character is a gay businessman who finally gets killed by his own employees, was performed eight times at theatres in Kampala during August.

According to AFP, John Francis Onyango, Mr Cecil’s lawyer said the trial had been adjourned until 2 January 2013 because police were still carrying out investigations.

Mr Cecil has now been granted a request to travel to the UK before the next hearing, although Sky News reports that his family have been forced to remain in Uganda in order to make sure the producer does not abscond.

Elsewhere in Uganda, there is growing concern that the country could soon pass its notorious Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

AFP reports that Ugandan parliamentary spokeswoman Helen Kawesa has said the bill is now the third item on Thursday’s order paper for parliamentary business.

Same-sex relations are already illegal in Uganda, but the new bill proposes introducing the death sentence for anyone caught engaging in homosexual acts for a second time, as well as for gay sex where one partner is a minor or has HIV.

• TV
• Dec 18

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