Thursday, April 10, 2025 - Former Chief Justice David Kenani Maraga has strongly condemned the use of teargas on students from Butere Girls High School during a protest at the National Drama Festivals in Nakuru.
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, prompting the protest.
The students declined to perform their controversial play Echoes
of War, which explores themes of governance and the 2024 Gen Z-led
protests.
In response, police lobbed teargas to disperse the group as
they protested in Nakuru.
In a firm statement, Maraga criticized law enforcement and
condemned those in authority who sanctioned the use of force on minors, calling
it a violation of children's rights and freedom of expression.
Read his statement below.
I condemn, in the strongest terms possible, the actions
by the police and persons in authority that sanctioned and condoned the recent
acts on students of Butere Girls High School, at the annual Kenya Schools and
Colleges National Drama and Film Festival, in connection with their school play
‘Echoes of War’.
The use of force against minors—children who were
engaging in a peaceful, creative, and educational activity—is not only
unconscionable but also unconstitutional and therefore totally unacceptable.
It is a flagrant
violation of the Constitution. Article 33 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010
guarantees every person the right to freedom of expression, including artistic
creativity.
No child should be punished or endangered for thinking
critically, speaking boldly, or performing creatively. Silencing students
through force and fear is a direct assault on their constitutional rights.
The authorities
responsible for this heinous violation of Students’ rights must remember that
in due time they will be held accountable.
The wheels of justice though they grind slowly, will
surely give us the country we deserve.
The perpetrators will be brought to book someday.
Let us not raise a generation that fears its own voice,
and especially when they are Constitutional guarantees.
Let us protect, nurture, and celebrate the courage of our
young people—their voices matter.
Any responsible citizen of Kenya, therefore, should play
their part in protecting and promoting Constitutional guarantees.
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