By Enock Okong’o
Themes on vices such as corruption, drug abuse and wife battering dominated in the just ended Kisii County drama festival.
This year’s event that was held at Sameta Boys High School ended on Wednesday with Cardinal Otunga Mosocho High School leading in several items
More than twenty schools presented items that ranged from plays, dramatized cultural and modern dances thrilled many theatre lovers.
The upcoming thespians, dancers, singers, poets and soloists presented other items like narratives, spoken word and stand up comedies.
Cardinal Otunga Mosocho High School emerged the champions with a variety of its items that featured a play, solo verse and spoken word.
In the plays category, the school thrilled the audience with their rib cracking play called ‘Meza yote’ (Swallow everything). It questions the place of greed and it’s far reaching effects in communities.
In the play Mezayote, the actor James Birundu, is choking as he stares on stage still stretching hands precariously for more food to gulp, but he collapses as his wife was coming in the nick of time to administer first aid.
The play humorously reprimands greed, nepotism and sadism in society.
The cultural dance category was won by Hema Chicago Secondary School followed by the little known Ayora Secondary School from Gucha South Sub County as St Charles Ichuni Girls Secondary School took position three.
The Principal of Hema Chicago Secondary School Mr. Julius Keng’iti said that the victory did not take him by surprise because he knew the school had invested much in the training of their learners.
‘They were well prepared and have received what they worked for,” he said.
Kisii High School entertained the audience as they entertained the hall with modern dance. The dance highlighted the milestones of science technology in the welfare of humanity.
St John’s Nyabigena School competed neck to neck with St. Theresa’s Nyangusu Girls School who staged ‘The Gone Days’ and ‘My tomorrow is Coming’ respectively.
Marani Sub County was represented by Tambachi High school who stirred the hall into laugher with their timeless stand-up comedy that won the adjudicator’s award.
The traditional Kisii County Inter-Secondary Schools Drama Festival Champions Itierio and Nyaburu National Schools came middle in this year’s fete.
Other schools that missed in action were the host Sameta, St Angela Sengera, St. John’s Nyamagwa and Nduru Boys ‘High School.
Sources briefed that most of the institutions were hindered from participation because of lack of funding to enable them to train well.
During the closure of the festival, the incoming Kisii County Director of Education Mr. Chirchir, thanked the individual schools that successfully presented their teams
He asked teachers to treat the festival like any other academic activity because it promotes co-existence among the youth.
“Apart from uniting our young people and teachers from various schools these event improves the aesthetic creativity of the learner,” he said
The educator appealed to the youth not to hide under the festival to commit atrocities like drug and substance abuse because they impair their lives.
