‘Echoes of War’ drama unfolds: Butere Girls allowed to perform under the cover of dawn without media presence

In a cloak-and-dagger twist befitting the production itself, Echoes of War – the politically charged school play by Butere Girls High School – was finally staged at the Kenya Schools and Colleges National Drama and Music Festival, albeit with many obstacles.

The Ministry of Education scheduled the performance for the early hours of the morning, between 6:15 am and 6:40 am on Thursday, April 10, 2025, at Melvin Jones International School in Nakuru, one of the key venues for this year’s national drama and music festivals.

Butere girls Students arrived in the early hours under tight police escort, met by a heavy security presence that appeared determined to limit access and visibility.

Journalists were barred from the grounds.

Access to the performance hall was restricted to those with official admission cards.

Those who attempted to gain entry were turned away at the gate, with officers citing undisclosed security protocols.

Outside the school, lawyer Ken Echesa – representing former Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala, who wrote and directed Echoes of War – addressed the media and condemned state intimidation.

“We are here as Kenyans to make a statement that these police officers can teargas us, they can kill some of us but they will not kill everyone. One of these fine days the young people of this nation will arise against oppression,” Echesa declared.

Echesa further claimed that the Butere Girls’ students were forced to perform under severely compromised conditions.

“They are forcing those girls to go on stage without their costumes, without their decors without the sound system. Lights have been switched off in the main hall so that girls cannot act in peace. They want them to act in 10 minutes instead of 25 minutes and leave for Butere. This is the kind of oppression that we must stand and say no,” he lamented.

Echesa added that the crackdown extended beyond the students.

The lawyer revealed that Malala, who was arrested on Wednesday under murky circumstances while seeking to prepare Butere girls students for the performance, had been moved to Eldama Ravine – over 100 kilometers away – in what Echesa described as a calculated attempt to frustrate and isolate the production team.

“Cleophas Malala I spoke to him last night but then they took his phone…This morning I again spoke to him through my own means and he has been moved to Eldama Ravine, he is not in Nakuru,” Echesa said.

“Their strategy is simple – move him across police stations, let the girls perform under very satanic circumstances and get the girls leave and release Malala at 2 pm,” he added.

When Butere girls students emerged from the hall, they were met with loud cheers from students from other schools and members of the public who had gathered nearby.

As the school bus departed, chants of “Ruto Must Go” echoed through the compound, a spontaneous outcry from sympathizers who viewed the saga as a symbol of the state’s increasingly fraught relationship with youth expression.

Echoes of War

The school play titled ‘Echoes of War’, authored and directed by former Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala, has emerged as a lightning rod for political and artistic debate in Kenya, drawing the attention of police, the judiciary, and the wider public.

Staged by Butere Girls High School, the production was nearly silenced after it was banned from the ongoing Kenya Schools and Colleges National Drama and Music Festival for its politically sensitive content.

A court later reversed that decision, but controversy continues to surround the play — and the people behind it.

Authorities initially barred Butere Girls from performing the play over its critical portrayal of state structures.

But on April 3, 2025, Justice Wilfrida Okwany of the High Court suspended any directive banning the school from participating in the national drama festival, ruling in favour of free expression and the right to participate in educational and artistic events.