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Uganda Drops Charges Against Gay Play Producer, David Cecil

david-cecil-ugandaAfter a recent series of cringe-worthy anti-gay incidents within its borders, Uganda has taken one (extremely small) step in the right direction by dropping the charges against David Cecil, the British producer behind the country’s first gay-themed play.

Cecil was arrested in September after staging The River and the Mountain, a play about a gay businessman who is eventually murdered by his employees, without the consent of the Uganda Media Council.

The play was accused of “promoting” homosexual acts, which is, along with performing homosexual acts, illegal in the East African nation. Cecil faced two years in jail but was freed on a bail of 500,000 shillings ($200).

With the proposed passage of its controversial anti-homosexuality bill, Uganda would seek even stricter sanctions against LGBT people, that is, if there are any.

“Today’s [Wednesday’s] outcome demonstrates there is a functioning judiciary in Uganda and it has restored my faith in Ugandan society,” Cecil told the BBC.

Cecil claimed the case was dismissed for a “lack of will or a lack of evidence” to try him, which begs the question: if Cecil wasn’t white, straight and British would he have gotten off so easy?

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