A Ugandan court has dismissed the case against a British man who put on a gay-themed play in a small cultural centre in Kampala.
David Cecil (34) had been charged with “disobeying lawful orders” by producing the banned play The River and the Mountain, about a Ugandan gay man who is killed due to his sexuality, in August last year.
If found guilty, he could have faced two years in jail.
On Wednesday, the case was dismissed by the Makindye Magistrates’ Court due to lack of evidence.
Cecil’s lawyer, John Francis Onyango, told AFP. “The case was dismissed and David was given back his passport. The prosecutor has not presented any evidence and failed to sustain the case.”
The magistrate, however, told the prosecutor that he could reinstate the charges in future.
Speaking to ITV News, Cecil said that he was very happy with the outcome of the trial but was aware that “effectively the state could reopen the case against me, with the same charges, if they produce more evidence.”
He added that what the trial had shown was that “it only takes a minority of extremists to create the impression that the whole society is violently homophobic”.
Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda. There are plans to impose additional measures, possibly including the death penalty, against gays and lesbians.
