Drama was witnessed at National Drama Festivals on Thursday, April 10, after students staged protests, momentarily following the walkout of Butere Girls students.
The protest started after Butere Girls declined to perform the controversial play ‘Echoes of War’ amid drama and criticism surrounding the theme.
The girls were on the stage at around 8am, but instead of performing the play, they sang the national anthem and left the stage.
Protest erupt in Nakuru as students decline to perform at the National Drama Festival. Photo: Courtesy.
According to reports, while the girls were given the chance to perform the play, they were denied a string of other basic infrastructure meant to enhance their performance, like other schools, including microphones, props and other equipment.
The students were denied an audience for their play performance, a dynamic that added to their frustration at the nationals.
Videos shared online spotted the girls running away from the stage, demanding the presence of their director, former UDA Secretary General Cleophas Malala.
“We want to perform, and we want our director. It is our right to perform. We were being harassed by the police.They took us to the stage with nothing. We had no director and no equipment.”, the girls claimed.
After they walked out, students from other schools joined them in protests, prompting police to intervene.
While chanting ‘Ruto Must Go’, police lobbed tear gas inside Melvin Jones Academy, forcing tens of students back to their respective buses.
The controversy surrounding Echoes of War gained national attention on Wednesday, April 10, when Malala was arrested in connection with the play.
Malala has publicly stated that he was the one who scripted the play.
He has since been arrested and is being held at the Eldama Ravine Police Station.
