Tom Daley, Dustin Lance Black meet with Ugandan LGBT activist

He’s recently been announced as a patron for LGBT charity Switchboard, and it seems like Tom Daley could be following partner Dustin Lance Black down the LGBT activism route after the couple met with one of Uganda’s most prominent LGBT rights campaigners this weekend (July 11).

Dr Frank Mugisha – an award-winning activist and executive director of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) – met with Black and Daley in London on Saturday night, later thanking them on Twitter for their support.

Great evening,meeting and talking with @TomDaley1994 @DLanceBlack . Thank you,appreciate all the support. pic.twitter.com/ubG8ugRUuc

— Dr. Frank Mugisha (@frankmugisha) July 11, 2015

Dr Mugisha, who was born in Kampala and came out to his family at 14, is one of the most outspoken proponents of LGBT rights in Uganda, where a series of attempts to introduce draconian new anti-gay laws making gay sex punishable by life-long imprisonment and even death have been drafted in recent years.

He was good friends with fellow activist David Kato, who was brutally murdered in a homophobic attack in 2011 after his picture was published in a tabloid’s list of the country’s most prominent LGBT people.

Hollywood screenwriter Dustin Lance Black – who has long championed gay issues in his work and was a founding board member of the American Foundation for Equal Rights – shared a picture of himself and Daley meeting Dr Mugisha on Instagram, along with the caption “Fro-yo with this #HERO in Soho”.

Speaking at a gala for Switchboard last month, Daley admitted he was still finding his place in the LGBT community after immediately becoming one its most prominent figures following his decision to come out publicly in December 2013.

“I’m still constantly learning about the LGBT+ community and I’m just being who I am”, the 21-year-old said. “All I can do [is] encourage other people to embrace who they are and be proud of it.

“I was lucky enough before I came out to have friends and family that were so supportive and I could speak to, but lots of people aren’t so lucky to have that support system around them.”

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