BREAKING THE LAW

65-Year-Old British Man Faces Prison Time In Uganda Over Stolen Gay Sex Photos

65-year-old British man Bernard Randall (pictured) is facing trial in Uganda after police found pictures on his laptop of him having sex with another man.

Last month, Randall pleaded not guilty in a Ugandan court to charges of “trafficking obscene publications”, after his laptop was stolen and the pictures on the computer were leaked to a Ugandan tabloid known for publishing salacious sex stories.

“It was private images on a private computer,” Randall said in an interview. “If any trafficking was done, it was by the robbers who took the laptop, and the newspaper for printing them.”

Homosexuality is considered a crime in Uganda. The government has been cracking down on gay activists recently, and has even proposed legislation that would impose the death penalty for certain homosexual acts. It’s been nicknamed the “Kill the Gays” bill.

Randall is currently looking at a potential two year sentence for his offense. His partner in the pictures, a Ugandan man, has been accused of carrying out “acts of gross indecency”, which carries a sentence of up to seven years.

Randall said that after the photos leaked, he became “terrified.”

“I’ve put padlocks on the windows, checked all the locks on the doors,” he claimed, adding he had feared gangs might seek to attack him.

Randall is originally from Kent in southeast England. He first visited Uganda in 2011, shortly after his wife died just shy of their 40-year wedding anniversary. It was after her death that he came out as homosexual.

He returned to Uganda in September of this year. Days after he arrived, someone broke into where he was staying and stole his cash, cellphone, and computer. The thieves first tried to blackmail Randall. When he didn’t comply with their demands, the images on the laptop were passed off to the newspaper, which prompted police to arrest him. He was then taken for a medical examination to “check” his homosexuality before being officially charged.

Randall is next due to appear in court on November 18.

Photo credit: BBC.

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