NAKURU, Kenya —Former Chief Justice David Maraga has joined the growing chorus of condemnation surrounding the controversial treatment of Butere Girls High School’s drama team at the ongoing Kenya Schools and Colleges National Drama and Film Festival in Nakuru.
Maraga has criticized the police for their heavy-handed response to the students, calling it a “flagrant violation” of their constitutional rights.
In a statement released Thursday, Maraga expressed outrage over the actions of police officers who used tear gas to disperse a crowd protesting the treatment of the students.
The incident occurred outside Kirobon Girls High School, where the festival is being held, as Butere Girls were preparing to perform their play, Echoes of War.
The students, who had been scheduled to take the stage, found themselves caught in a chaotic scene when police intervened, forcing them to flee to their bus, with some students reportedly falling in the process.
I condemn, in the strongest terms possible, the actions by the police and persons in authority that sanctioned and condoned the recent acts on students of Butere Girls High School, at the annual Kenya Schools and Colleges National Drama and Film Festival, in connection with their
According to reports, the students had boycotted the performance in protest, demanding the presence of former Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala, who had written the play.
The police’s actions were widely seen as an attempt to suppress the students’ right to express themselves through art.
Maraga was unequivocal in his condemnation, describing the police’s use of force against minors engaged in a peaceful and educational activity as “unconscionable.”
He labeled the incident as a “heinous violation of students’ rights” and emphasized that such actions were a direct infringement on the constitutional protections afforded to all citizens under Article 33, which guarantees freedom of expression and artistic creativity.
“No child should be punished or endangered for thinking critically, speaking boldly, or performing creatively,” Maraga stated. “These students were simply exercising their fundamental rights, and yet they were subjected to unnecessary violence.”
The former CJ stressed that the police action was not only a violation of individual rights but also a larger failure to uphold Kenya’s Constitution.
He warned that those responsible for the incident would eventually be held accountable, asserting, “The wheels of justice, though they grind slowly, will surely give us the country we deserve.”
Maraga also called on Kenyans to stand firm in defending the freedoms enshrined in the Constitution, particularly for the youth.
“Let us not raise a generation that fears its own voice. Let us protect, nurture, and celebrate the courage of our young people, their voices matter,” he urged.
