Thursday, April 10,
2025 - Siaya Governor James Orengo has thrown his weight behind students of
Butere Girls High School following their bold protest at the National Drama
Festival in Nakuru.
The students were set to perform their controversial Echoes
of War play, which delves into themes of governance and the 2024 Gen Z-led
protests, at Kirobon Girls High School.
However, at 8 a.m., the students took to the stage, sang the
national anthem, and exited without staging the play.
According to sources, the students were denied access to a
public address system and an audience - circumstances widely viewed as
calculated efforts to sabotage their presentation.
The students later took to the streets of Nakuru in protest.
However, their peaceful demonstration was met with police
teargas, drawing widespread criticism.
In a show of support, Governor Orengo took to X (formerly
Twitter), quoting a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling: “Neither students
nor teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or
expression at the schoolhouse gate.”
He added, “Hongera Butere Girls High School.”
Orengo’s sentiments were echoed by ODM Party Secretary
General, Edwin Sifuna, who issued a strongly worded statement condemning the Government’s
handling of the situation.
"The country has watched with disbelief the unfolding
drama in Nakuru, where the government has seemingly been intimidated by a
student play," said Sifuna.
"This regime has exposed its own insecurities by
attempting to stifle the voices of young, uniformed girls expressing themselves
artistically."
Sifuna also decried the mistreatment of journalists and
attendees at the event, demanding that authorities allow Butere Girls to stage
their play without interference.
The controversy has sparked a national conversation on
freedom of expression and the role of art in political discourse.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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