The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) has filed an urgent petition at the High Court seeking orders compelling the government to allow Butere Girls’ High School to perform their controversial play Echoes of War at the ongoing Kenya National Drama and Film Festivals.
In court papers filed on Friday, KHRC is asking the court to issue a mandatory order requiring the Ministry of Education, Kenya National Drama and Film Festival Secretariat, and other state organs to allow the students to stage the play in its original script, with the use of their chosen props and décor, and with the assistance of their director and support staff no later than Sunday, April 13, 2025.
The Commission argues that the censorship and subsequent banning of the play not only violates the students’ rights to freedom of expression and access to cultural life, but also amounts to unconstitutional suppression of artistic creativity.
KHRC further seeks orders compelling the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) to present to court a comprehensive report documenting incidents of alleged police harassment and violence against Cleophas Malala, the director of the play, as well as students and staff of Butere Girls’ High School on April 9 and 10, 2025.
According to the petition, police officers are accused of unlawfully disrupting rehearsals and detaining members of the drama team without cause, in what KHRC terms as “an orchestrated crackdown on free artistic expression.”
In their petition, KHRC is also asking the court to issue a mandatory order compelling IPOA to produce all internal inquiries, investigations, and/or prosecutions of individuals related to the incident.
“Pending the hearing and determination of the petition, a mandatory order be issued directing IPOA to produce before court all the internal inquiries, investigations, and/or prosecutions relating to the police harassment and violence meted on Malala, the play director, and Butere Girls’ High School drama students on April 9 and 10, 2025,” KHRC seeks.
The commission argues that the police actions were discriminatory, malicious, and unjustified, particularly given that the affected students were minors.
“The minors affected by the respondents’ decisions and inactions are already suffering prejudice, having missed out on a well-earned opportunity to perform at the national stage, without any justification whatsoever,” the court documents state.
Through lawyers Kelly Malenya and Haggai Chimei, the petitioners contend that the students will suffer irreparable harm if they are not allowed to present their play at the national level in the same manner as other participants.
KHRC is further seeking an alternative remedy: if the students are not allowed to perform by Sunday, the court should suspend the ongoing Kenya National Drama and Film Festivals scheduled to end on April 13, 2025 until the petition is heard and determined.
