NAKURU, Kenya — A turbulent start to Thursday’s events at the Kenya Schools and Colleges National Drama and Film Festival saw security officers resorting to tear gas to disperse protesters rallying against the treatment of the Butere Girls High School drama team.
The students, scheduled to perform their controversial play Echoes of War—written by former Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala—found themselves entangled in the chaos.
Caught in the melee, the students hurriedly retreated to their bus, with some stumbling and falling amid the confusion.
The unrest followed a tense standoff on Wednesday night, when police used tear gas to break up a gathering of journalists and spectators near the festival venue at Kirobon Girls High School in Rongai subcounty, Nakuru.
Tensions continued to simmer into Thursday morning.
The students ultimately declined to perform, calling for the release of Malala, who had been detained by police in the lead-up to their scheduled performance.
Echoes of War has been a lightning rod for controversy, critiquing governance, corruption, and youth frustration in Kenya.
After being disqualified from a regional festival, the play was reinstated by a court ruling, only to face continued obstacles at the national level.
The festival, running from April 7 to 15 under the theme Leveraging Technology to Nurture Talent While Inculcating Value for Social Prosperity, opened on a positive note, but this incident has overshadowed the event’s stated mission of promoting creative expression.
