Trial of UK man held in Uganda for breaking anti-gay laws adjourned for second time

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The case of a British man charged in Uganda after images of him having sex with a man were published in a newspaper has been adjourned for a second time.

Bernard Randell, 65, was arrested in October and charged with “trafficking obscene publications” after Uganda’s Red Pepper newspaper made public the details of the video on its front page.

Mr Randell, who has pleaded not guilty, claims the film was unearthed by robbers who stole his laptop and passed the footage to the newspaper.

Last Thursday, Mr Randell told the Press Association that he could be deported back to the UK as early as this Friday.

The retired banker mentioned a Ugandan policeman who said that his visa extension had been refused by the authorities and that his departure had been scheduled for Friday 6 December.

But in a court appearance yesterday, Mr Randell was told that his case would be adjourned for a second time until 16 December.

AFP reports outside the courtroom, Mr Randall confronted anti-gay pastor Solomon Male, whom he accuses of supporting the two men alleged to have stolen the laptop and passed the images on to the newspaper.

But Mr Male angrily shouted back at Mr Randall: “You come to Uganda and sodomise our boys? We can’t allow that”.

Mr Randall has denied trafficking obscene material, which carries a two-year jail term. His Ugandan male partner faces a more serious charge of gross indecency, which carries a seven-year jail term.

 

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