Amnesty International Kenya has strongly condemned the violent police disruption of Echoes of War, a school play by Butere Girls High School, during the National Drama Festivals held in Nakuru on April 9 and 10, 2025.
According to the human rights group, police officers stormed the performance venue, blocked journalists from entering, and used teargas against students and the audience.
Amnesty International described the actions as a violation of free expression, press freedom, and the right to associate.
“What unfolded was not just a shameful abuse of police authority, but a direct assault on constitutional freedoms,” said Irungu Houghton, Executive Director of Amnesty International Kenya.
“By targeting a school play performed by children, the state is criminalizing creativity and turning cultural spaces into zones of fear.”
Houghton noted that the violent disruption denied students their legal right to express themselves through art, as protected by both Kenyan law and international human rights agreements.
He called for an immediate end to harassment and intimidation of the students, teachers, and creatives behind the play.
He also demanded the release of the play’s director, Cleophas Malala, who was arrested and detained at Eldama Ravine Police Station.
“We urge the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) to launch swift and transparent investigations into the conduct of police officers involved in the incident,” he added.
Amnesty further stated that the Children Act 2022 and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child guarantee every child the right to participate in cultural life, including through artistic expression.
“Silence is not safety,” Houghton said.
“Children must be free to speak, perform, and imagine a different world without fear of state violence.”
The controversy has sparked political backlash as well.
ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna criticized the government for allegedly trying to silence students whose play was seen as critical of the current administration.
Sifuna likened the play to Sarafina!, the iconic South African film about student resistance during apartheid.
“Serious questions arise when a government is scared of children’s art,” he said.
“Of all the evidence of this regime’s misplaced priorities, none is more shameful than harassing schoolgirls in uniform.”
The Butere Girls’ play had earlier been disqualified at the Western Region Drama Festival, but a High Court ruling reinstated it and ordered its inclusion in the national program.
Students who had gone home for the April holidays were recalled to prepare for the Nakuru performance.
However, when the team arrived at the venue—Melvin Jones Academy—they refused to perform in protest of their director’s arrest.
Instead, they stood on stage, sang the national anthem, and quietly walked off.
Outside the hall, members of the public joined in chanting slogans such as “No Butere, no drama” and “Ruto must go.” Police responded with teargas, forcing some students to flee to the nearby Menengai Secondary School. Their school bus was later escorted out of Nakuru by officers.
KANU Chairman Gideon Moi condemned the arrest of Malala, saying it violated the students’ freedom of expression.
“The young girls of Butere are not enemies of the state. They should be celebrated for speaking the truth through art, not punished,” Moi said.
DAP-K party leader Eugene Wamalwa also led a group of lawyers to the school and demanded Malala’s release.
He accused police of blocking journalists from covering the incident and called on the government to respect the creative freedoms of young people.
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