Ugandan boyfriend of deported British man receives death threats from neighbours
The Ugandan boyfriend of Bernard Randall, a gay British man arrested in Uganda after pictures of him having sex appeared in a newspaper, is fearing for his life after receiving death threats from neighbours.
His boyfriend, Ugandan national Albert Cheptoyek, faces a much more serious charge of gross indecency, which can carry a jail term of up to seven years.
According to The Observer, Mr Cheptoyek has been rejected by his local community and now fears for his life after his neighbours threatened to kill him.
“I don’t know what will happen to me,” he said. “They say that, at the least, I will go to prison. But there is nothing to do. I could not go with Randall: I do not have a visa. Besides, this is my country.”
He added he was surprised by the order to deport Mr Randall from the country, particularly after hoping that the court would clear their names as “sodomisers” and return their stolen property, including the laptop from which the images were leaked.
He said Mr Randall had spent two nights in a cell before leaving the country.
“He was treated like a suspect in the cells. He slept on the floor for two nights. He was not happy to leave without justice – without his stolen property.”
Mr Randall, who had pleaded not guilty, claims that robbers who stole his laptop unearthed the film, and passed the footage to the newspaper.
He could have faced up to two years in prison if found guilty.
The move to drop the bill came after criticism from the UK and US governments, and business magnate and investor Sir Richard Branson.
