Former Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala has hit back at Interior and National Administration Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen over remarks dismissing the controversial Echoes of War cast as children, warning that the same students will be eligible voters in the 2027 General Election.
Speaking during a media interview on Sunday, April 13, 2025, Malala, who directed the play that sparked national debate, accused the government of underestimating the political awareness of young people and using their age as an excuse to silence their voices.
“You know when you look at the set books these children read in school, all of them are political. During our days we did Government Inspector, A Man of the People — so why do we imagine that these children do not know what is going on?” Malala posed.
In a direct address to Murkomen, Malala asserted that the students involved in the play were not just passive learners but active observers of the political and social environment around them.
“I want to tell Murkomen, these people you are calling children, they are seeing, they participate in the events of this country, they know what is going on. When you call them children and say they are not supposed to know anything, that is a mistake,” Malala stated.
He went on to highlight the significance of the students’ civic maturity, pointing out that many of them will be first-time voters in the next polls.
“As we speak right now, the cast that acted Echoes of War, in 2027, will be voters. Will you still call them children?” Malala asked.
Despite the controversy and government backlash, Malala reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring the play lives on beyond the school setting.
“I am committed to ensuring that I will use an adult cast to perform the play,” he said, “but before that performance, we must honour the girls of Butere.”
Butere Girls’ confrontation
Malala’s comments follow a dramatic incident on April 10, when Butere Girls students walked off the stage at Melvin Jones International School in Nakuru, the venue of the national drama festivals.
The students, visibly upset, said the walkout was not a spur-of-the-moment act but the culmination of systematic mistreatment, citing lack of proper sound, stage décor, and harassment by police officers.
“We were harassed by the police. We went to the stage with nothing — no sound, no decor, nothing. So we sang the National Anthem and left,” one student said.
As tensions escalated, the students began chanting and demanding the whereabouts of their director, Malala who had been arrested at the time.
“We want our director. We are not performing without our director. Where is Mr. Cleophas? We want him. We are not going back to Butere,” they shouted.
The situation escalated when police fired teargas at the students as they exited the venue—an act that has sparked widespread public condemnation and renewed scrutiny
Murkomen’s defence
Speaking to the media on April 10, 2025, Murkomen defended the government’s actions, framing the issue as part of broader efforts to shield students from political manipulation.
“We are mandated to safeguard the freedom of expression for all Kenyans, and we would not want insecurity to be pushed into the wellbeing of our children,” he stated.
“We also should allow our children to be educated in all forms, but we have the responsibility as government and parents to ensure that they are not at the centre of politics,” he added.
He also accused politicians—without naming Malala directly—of using students and school platforms to settle political scores with the government.
“It has come to a point that a politician is now the headteacher directing students on drama and using them to politically get back at the government,” Murkomen said.
The CS urged politicians to leave educational content to teachers, who he said understand the boundaries and know how to guide learners on issues of morality and governance.
“I want to urge us politicians to leave schools for teachers. Teachers know the boundaries when engaging the learners. They know the right language while criticising the government, and they are the only ones to direct our children on morals,” he stated.