Butere Girls’ ‘Echoes of War’ now plays in court
Lawyer Edgar Busiega has moved to Kakamega High Court seeking to compel the Ministry of Education to allow Butere Girls High School to perform its play, Echoes of War at the National Drama Festival.
The play is written and directed by former Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malalah.
The national drama festivals are set to begin on Monday in Nakuru.
The petitioner Alice Anyona through lawyer Busiega has sued the school principal Jennipher Omondi, and the Management Board.
She wants the court to allow the school to go ahead and stage the play since it had been already adjudicated by highly qualified adjudicators at the sub-county, county and regional levels respectively.
“The Regional competition held at Chavakali High School ended on March 29, 2025 with Butere Girld play scooping a highy commendable 91% mark and ranked number 3 in that category thereby qualifying for the Nationals scheduled to commence on April 7, 2025 to April 15, 2025,” the Butere alumnus argues in court papers.
“Previously, the Butere Girls High School play had scooped positions 1 both at Sub County and County Level with impressive 79% and 89% mark respectively,” she further argued.
At the same time, the petitioner argues that the move to bar the play from by staged at the national fete is aimed at denying the participating students an opportunity to take part cultural and artistic work hence limiting their right of expression under Article 33(1) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010.
The petitioner has also questioned why the school hurriedly closed for April holidays yet there was no emergency, reading malice in the move.
She has listed the Attorney General and the Executive Secretary, Kenya National Drama and Film Festival as 3rd and 4th respondents and the Permanent Secretary, Department of Basic Education as the 5th respondent.
The matter is coming up for a hearing on April 4.
The removal of Echoes of War draws strikes parallels to the 2013 ban of Shackles of Doom, a play penned by Malalah, again.
In that case, the Ministry of Education officials barred the play from being staged at the national level.
However, a successful High Court petition by activist and current Busia senator Okiya Omtatah led to a ruling that overturned the ban.
Justice David Majanja of the High Court ordered the play to be staged at the nationals in Mombasa, citing freedom of expression under the Constitution.
Echoes of War explores contemporary issues such as technology, governance, and social justice—topics particularly relevant to Generation Z.
