Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has said the government did not prevent Butere Girls from performing their play “Echoes of War”.
The CS also maintained that the government was not keen on frustrating Butere Girls in staging their play the “Echoes of War”; he said the students had the right to speak their minds,
The CS also apologized for the teargassing of journalists who were teargased while covering Kenya Schools and Colleges National Drama and Music Festival in Nakuru.
Murkomen said that the incident would be investigated internally to establish the facts surrounding the incident.
The CS who was speaking in Lamu County on Thursday, April 10, the incident was an unfortunate situation where a tear gas hit a journalist and it is regrettable.
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‘’We apologize. It is not our intention to throw tear gas on our journalists,’’ the CS said.
The CS said writing of plays should be done by teachers of other non-political actors, questioning why former UDA SG Cleophas Malala was the writer of the play.
“Ask yourself, as a Kenyan, how is it possible that we have reached a level where a politician has become the writer of a play for students. He is using the students for politics,” he said
He called on politicians to keep off matters involving children, says national theatres are available to those who want to pen adult themed plays.
Malala had defended himself, he said he has been writing plays for long and 80 have been performed by schools.
The former senator had been blocked from entering the school for final rehearsals on Wednesday.
The debate took centre stage in parliament with MP Adan Kenyan calling for the immediate arrest of Malala and teachers from Butere Girls High School, other lawmakers condemned the incident of the police teargasing the students.
By Obegi Malack
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