Gay Play Producer Jailed in Uganada

From the Wisconsin Gazette -- The British producer of a play about being gay in Uganda is in jail pending his trial on charges that he had the work performed without official authorization. David Cecil appeared in court Thursday charged with “disobeying lawful orders” from the Uganda Media Council, which says he staged The River and the Mountain in Uganda’s capital last month despite orders to the contrary.

David Cecil appeared in court Thursday charged with “disobeying lawful orders” from the Uganda Media Council, which says he staged The River and the Mountain in Uganda’s capital last month despite orders to the contrary.

Cecil told The Associated Press that the play, whose main character is a gay businessman who gets killed by his own employees, was performed eight times at little-known theaters in Kampala last month.

Gays are highly stigmatized in Uganda, where in 2010 a lawmaker with the ruling party introduced a bill proposing the death penalty for what he called “aggravated homosexuality.” 

Cecil faces two years in jail if convicted.

See full story here.