Editor's note: Read the play and the court's decision here.
Scenes of armed, uniformed police barring students, journalists and the public from watching a school play while lobbing teargas at them at dawn are straight out of the Gestapo playbook.
Students of Butere Girls' High School responded with patriotic courage to the cruelty of the Ministry of Education in scheduling their performance at 6 a.m. as part of state repression by singing the national anthem and walking off the stage. The High Court directed that the play proceed, and the Drama Festival Committee staged the performance at dawn to comply with the court's ruling in a criminal manner.
Other schools have elected not to perform at the National School and Drama Festival owing to the repressive atmosphere that has descended on this year’s event.
We commend and celebrate the courage and patriotism of Kenya’s students in the face of an oppressive and insecure state and commit our solidarity with them. They have been fearless in taking this important play and continuing it even after threats from the State House.
This violent assault on the freedoms of thought, conscience, information, expression and opinion—guaranteed by no less than the Constitution[1]-- violates the state’s obligation to provide education to children.
Over the 66 years that the Kenya Schools and Colleges Drama Festival has been held each year, it has evolved into a site for speaking truth to power. Still, none of the regimes that have ruled over Kenya in that time has exposed its vulnerability through crude repression as in the present case.
Regimes that ban, circumscribe or stifle artistic expression, such as the Butere Girls' High School play “Echoes of War”, only confirm the truth in the art. The William Ruto regime fears the truth that 50 students speaking from a high school auditorium can infect the public.
The muscular tactics of muzzling artistic expression and dialogic learning, including the attack and injury of six journalists during the arrest of Cleophas Malala, the play’s director, tell the youth of this country that those who run the government are enemies of the people. The message being unwittingly sent out is that youth are not allowed to imagine a future shaped by young people who confront oppressors, call out injustice, and create change. That message is a monumental falsehood that must be demolished.
After months of rehearsals and nationwide acclaim, the girls who performed this play at the sub-county, county, and regional levels did what artists are expected to do in times of uncertainty. They held up a mirror to society and spoke for a generation often misrepresented, dismissed, or silenced.
The High Court has already affirmed that the girls have the right to perform the school play. The Ministry of Education, the Drama Festival Committee, and state agencies must respect the law as it stands. This violation chips away at the foundation of our republic.
The parallels between this play and Kenya’s Gen-Z revolution of 2024, in which young people took to the streets to challenge power and demand good governance, might bring back uncomfortable memories for Ruto, who was forced to veto the punitive Finance Bill but had police kill scores to silence them. Gen-Z’s courage reminded the world that people’s power can unseat even the most stubborn autocrats.
Education is meant to prepare the young to lead. The scenes at the drama festival are another awakening of our collective conscience. Consequently, due to the gross violation of the constitution and contempt of the court order, we demand the following:
- The Butere Girls students should be allowed to perform “Echoes of War” at the National Drama Festival without any conditions, delays, or reprisals, and they should be provided with psychosocial support for the trauma and intimidation they have endured.
- No student, teacher, or school administrator is subjected to intimidation, disciplinary action, or retaliation for participating in the production or standing in its defense.
- The Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries for Interior and Education, the Inspector-General of Police, the Director of Criminal Investigations, and all regional and local education and security officials involved in this unconstitutional interference immediately resign and face prosecution for abuse of office, violation of human rights, and contempt of the court order.
- Cleophas Malala, the director of the play, should be released immediately and unconditionally, and any charges or investigations against him should be dropped.
- The government immediately ceases its growing culture of censorship and repression and ensures that all Kenyans remain vigilant, resilient, and unyielding in the face of deepening authoritarianism.
- Police officers who attacked the six journalists must be held to account, and immediate measures must be taken to protect media freedom and ensure the safety of journalists while they work.
KHRC is closely monitoring the situation and exploring appropriate legal remedies to ensure the culprits are held accountable.
The experience of Butere Girls' High School students reminds us of the legacy of the Kamirithu Community Educational and Cultural Centre and its moving theatre. This was a revolutionary initiative in the late 1970s led by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o. Born from a grassroots effort in Kamirithu village, the theatre used storytelling and performance in Gĩkũyũ to address issues like land struggles and political betrayal in post-independence Kenya. When the play Ngaahika Ndeenda became popular for challenging the ruling elite, the government responded with brutal repression, razing the cultural centre and banning the theatre.
[1] See Constitution of Kenya, Articles 32, 33, 34, 35 and 36 on freedom of thought, conscience, belief and opinion; freedom of expression; freedom of information and association.