A Ugandan court has dismissed the case against a British theatre producer who faced two years in jail for staging a play about homosexuality. David Cecil was charged with “disobeying lawful orders” from Uganda’s media council after performances of the play went ahead despite intervention from the regulators.
The River and the Mountain had provoked controversy, particularly through its suggestion that much homophobic anger and hatred in the country had been whipped up by politicians and religious leaders for their own purposes.
Cecil said a magistrate dismissed the case yesterday because, having appeared in court four times since September, the prosecution had failed to disclose any evidence or commit to a trial date. The magistrate returned Cecil’s passport but said the case could be reopened if the state so wished.
“I am very relieved,” Cecil said. “This was an unexpectedly swift end to the proceedings, though ultimately I was confident that the case would be dismissed.”
Homophobia
The play tells the story of a young businessman coming to terms with being gay in a climate of homophobia. The production was stopped by the media council, which told producers a day before opening that the script needed to be cleared by authorities. The National Theatre of Uganda, in Kampala, refused to stage the performances.
A petition calling for the government to drop the case was signed by more than 2,800 people, including playwright Mike Leigh, comedians Stephen Fry and Sandi Toksvig, and actor Simon Callow.
Uganda has been criticised for introducing an anti-homosexuality Bill to parliament, which proposes severe penalties, including death, for those found having same-sex relationships. – (Guardian service)