British producer of gay play in Uganda released from jail on bail

British theatre producer David Cecil has been released on bail in Uganda, where he was charged over a play about the condition of gay people. He was arrested last Thursday, accused of "disobeying lawful orders", because the play The River and the Mountain was performed without authorisation.
Mr Cecil faces two years in jail if convicted. The Ugandan parliament is considering legislation aimed at increasing penalties for homosexual acts.

The play, which tells the story of a gay businessman killed by his own employees, was performed at two theatres in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, last month. Uganda's Daily Monitor newspaper reports that the Media Council had warned the play's backers not to perform it until it had been approved.
Mr Cecil was freed on bail of 500,000 shillings ($200; £124). He was ordered to surrender his passport and must report back to court on 18 October.
His lawyer John Francis Onyango told the AFP news agency that his client was in good health.
Homosexual acts are illegal in Uganda and gay people have faced physical attacks and social rejection.
An anti-gay bill imposing life sentences on those convicted of homosexual acts was re-tabled in parliament earlier this year.
It was first introduced in 2009 but never debated - and the MP backing the legislation says a clause proposing the death penalty will be dropped

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19624441 

Uganda police arrest bar owner for staging ‘gay’ play

Kampala police take action over ‘banned’ play, The River and The Mountain, which features gay plotline 07 September 2012 | By Omar Kuddus A bar owner has been arrrested in Kampala, Uganda for staging a play with a gay storyline. Police have arrested a Uganda bar owner for staging the play The River and The Mountain which features a man coming out as gay. David Cecil, owner of Tilapila Bar in Kampala was accused of showing a ‘gay themed play’. Another bar has also shown the play previously and it is been confirmed that the owner there has also been questioned by the Kampala police. But while Cecil was Ugandan, the other bar owner is an ex-pat from a western country, and therefore less likely to be harassed by police, according to activists. The River and the Mountain features a storyline about a gay businessman living in a homophobic country. The play is advertised as: ‘A Ugandan comedy drama that tackles the intersection of religion, politics and sexuality.’ It had originally been scheduled to show for the National Theatre of Uganda but performances were cancelled after government officials objected to the gay theme and regulators intervened. Some shows went ahead at two smaller venues. UK newspaper The Guardian reported that the play, by British playwright Beau Hopkins, ‘has provoked controversy not only for its sympathetic portrayal of gay people, but also because it suggests that much of the anger and hatred has been whipped up by politicians and religious leaders for their own purposes.’ It quoted Hopkins as saying: ‘The local media seem to have agreed not to talk about it, which is disappointing. We’re also particularly disappointed that it won’t be staged at the National Theatre, as there it would have reached more Ugandans.’ He said the play was not intended to promote a specific agenda, but rather to add to public debate. ‘We’re actors, not activists,’ he said. ‘The play is there to inspire discussion in the community and to get a reaction from people. We want it to open up a dialogue.’ ‘We are all disappointed but not surprised that we could not perform at the National Theatre,’ said the actor Okuyo Joel Atiku Prynce, who plays the gay character at the center of the story. ‘What is surprising is the fact that we have received no clear reason. No one is taking responsibility for this decision.’ Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), the leading LGBT campaign group in the country, told Gay Star News the play was about much more than just gay issues. A SMUG spokesperson said: ‘The gay part in the play is really very small and it tackles so many other issues, including corruption, politics and health.’ Uganda has a reputation of being a deeply homophobic society, and its parliament introduced a ‘kill the gays bill’ in October 2009. The bill proposed severe penalties, including death, for those found guilty of having same-sex relationships. While debate on the bill sometimes resurfaces, it has been temporarily shelved. Uganda gay rights activist David Kato was murdered in January 2011 shortly after a local newspaper published images of him and other gay people under a headline urging readers: ‘Hang them.’ Despite this, Uganda’s LGBT community recently held a weekend of gay pride events, including the country’s first LGBT pride march.

Uganda making life tough for NGOs, LGBT rights

I’ve interviewed hundreds of victims and witnesses of human rights abuses in Uganda, but I was genuinely surprised at the fear I heard recently when I met with activists in the country. “If you preach human rights, you are anti-development, an economic saboteur,” a colleague told me. “You aren’t going to talk about land, oil, and good governance. This is just the beginning, but the tensions have been accumulating.” Uganda has made the news in recent months over issues like the Ebola virus, Joseph Kony, and the notorious anti-homosexuality law known as the “kill the gays bill.” Less-well-known has been its longstanding patterns of torture and mistreatment of detainees by security forces. President Yoweri Museveni and the ruling National Resistance Movement have been in power for more than 25 years, with a 2005 constitutional amendment lifting presidential term limits and permitting him to run and win in 2006, and then again, heavily assisted by off-budget spending from state coffers, in 2011. Since 2011, Museveni has faced increasing criticism for economic woes, corruption, unemployment, rising HIV rates and deteriorating health and education services. In April 2011, demonstrators “walked to work” to protest raising food and fuel prices. The military and police took to the streets, using live ammunition and killing at least nine bystanders and beating journalists documenting the events. The government has routinely blocked demonstrations in the last few years, contending that they threaten public safety. The president appears to be preparing to run again in 2016 – which would be his 30th year in office – and it seems no coincidence that in the wake of growing public grievances, the ruling party’s officials are scrutinizing nongovernmental organizations and the impact they have on public perceptions of governance and management of public funds. Organizations working on human rights, land acquisitions, oil revenue transparency, and other sensitive issues are the main targets, and apparently viewed as a threat to the administration’s interests. Uganda’s laws reflect this analysis. The intelligence agencies are legally mandated to monitor civil society, and the president’s office has a role in reviewing requests to do research, via the Uganda Council on Science and Technology. Over the last two years, Ugandan officials have reportedly closed civil society meetings and workshops, reprimanded organizations for their research, demanded retractions or apologies, and confiscated t-shirts, calendars and training materials with messaging about political change and “people’s power.” The government board mandated to regulate civil society recently recommended dissolving one group unless it apologized for bringing “the person of the president into disrepute” and has stated that working in coalitions is unlawful. At the same time the government’s hostility to, and harassment of, Uganda’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community continues unabated. Government officials demonize homosexuality, deliberately misinform the public, and stir hatred. One minister uses “the promotion of homosexuality” – a spurious claim – as justification for his campaign against any group seeking to protect the rights of LGBT people. He told me that the pursuit of LGBT rights is a Western conspiracy aimed at destroying Uganda. While homosexual sex is illegal in Uganda, it is not illegal to discuss LGBT issues, despite the deeply misguided anti-gay bill still pending before parliament. Groups focused on fighting for the rights of LGBT people therefore have every legal right to register and operate. But in practice, that remains far from possible. While many interpret the government’s increasing focus on homosexuality as a populist strategy to gain support, it is still profoundly dangerous for a community that is vulnerable to harassment and violence. Donors need to ask tough questions about where Uganda is heading, given the deteriorating situation for civil society. Furthermore, in today’s Uganda, government institutions have little independence to perform their constitutionally mandated jobs, corruption is rife, and protecting the ruling party and the president from criticism has become more important than citizens’ right to information. Fundamental democratic guarantees such as freedom of expression and association should not take a back seat to security interests. Ultimately, this is the lesson of the Arab spring. Until Ugandan civil society is free to research, publish, speak out, debate and advocate for change without fear, durable security will remain out of reach. Maria Burnett is a senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch.