The national school theater competition in Kenya has turned into another sort of dramatic scene, after the police launched tear gas to disperse the crowds that met to follow a controversial piece entitled “Echo of War”.
Theatrical work tells the story of a fictitious kingdom in which young people have lost confidence in their leaders and include scenes of confrontation with the police who triggered similarities in demonstrations last year on tax increases.
The piece prepared by the students of Botteri high school for girls was initially excluded from competition in mysterious circumstances, before the Supreme Court ordered it to return it to the calendar of offers.
However, the tensions degenerated Thursday in the city of Nakuro to the west of the country, after the students left the room to protest against the arrest of former senator Senator Clevas Malala, and the police prevented him from attending the last “rehearsal” with them.
Later, Malala was released without accusations, to express her pride in the position of the students, saying: “I played the girls of Buttiri, an exceptional championship. I will work in my best to ensure theatrical performance in front of the Kenyan audience.”
The news of his arrest made more fans in the exhibition hall, before the police intervened again using tear gas to disperse the crowd.
The Minister of Education, Julius Ogamba, asked questions about the legality of Malala’s participation in the work, saying: “He is neither a teacher nor a theatrical director”, while the Minister of the Interior Kembachomba Morkoma warned the political exploitation of students to liquidate political accounts, stressing the need to separate education and politics.
The incident sparked a wave of anger, while Amnesty International considered what happened “a disturbing scheme of state repression against freedom of expression, the press and the right to bring together”.
The head of the Supreme Court, Martha Kumi, also described Malala’s arrest as a clear violation of judicial orders and a threat to the rule of law.
The eminent exhibitions, such as the Wonso Musioka, praised the courage of the students who refused to make the offer, while the opposition movement called “the Orange Democratic Alliance” to allow them to participate, similar to the rest of the schools.
In a parallel context, the isolated vice-president, Reacthay Gatchago, held the intelligence services responsible for the failure of the crisis, since what happened would have been avoided if the warnings were launched early.
He added that allowing the presentation of the room despite the security reserves was an “unacceptable adventure”, calling for improving coordination between the ministries of education and the interior to avoid similar positions in the future.
The events “Echo of War” revolve around a tyrannical authority which is annoyed by the activity of youth, in a symbolic projection of the current political scene in Kenya, where the votes of young people demanding good judgment increase. It has not yet been decided if the play will be presented in the final which will traditionally be held in the presidential palace in the presence of the President of the Republic.
It should be noted that this is not the first time that the schools have caused controversy, because the game “fate” in 2013 had caused a sensation after the government prevented it, before the Supreme Court intervened and authorized it.
This experience opened the door to its author Clevas Malala to enter the world of politics, because he said that she criticized ethnic divisions and their impact on the distribution of resources in the country.
It should be noted that Malala, who wrote dozens of pieces last year of the “United Democratic Alliance” party after internal differences, despite his support for President William Roto in the 2022 elections, before being canceled later.