Former Kakamega Senator and playwright Cleophas Malala has spoken about the inspiration behind Butere Girls' High School play, Echoes of War.
Speaking in an interview on Sunday, April 13, Malala explained that the play was inspired by the June 2024 Gen-Z protests, dismissing claims that it was a political retaliation.
"I started conceptualizing the idea of this play in June, immediately after the Gen Z demonstrations. I do not write plays because of my personal perception of life. I write plays, I am inspired by the events unfolding in our society.
“It would be wrong for somebody to say that I write plays for revenge or advance my political agenda. I do not intend to advance any political agenda using my plays,” he said.
Read More
The play which gained massive traction due to a character named 'Sultan' was interpreted by some as a veiled reference to President William Ruto.
However, Malala refuted those claims and insisted that the character is fictional, adding that the play is not limited to Kenya's political landscape.
“The text of that play has no offensive language at all. The play is an artistic play. We have a person there called Sultan, I do not have a character called William Ruto. Why does he think that that Sultan is him?
"That play exposes the ever-widening gap between the young generation and the older generation across the world. Why is Museveni not complaining about Echoes of War?" he asked.
During the same interview, Malala defended his decision to train Butere Girls' High School drama team at night.
He said the move was necessitated by attempts to sabotage the students' performance at the National Drama Festival.
"We had to train the girls at night because the girls had travelled all day from Butere. When they arrived at Kerobon around 4PM, they were locked in a room and told not to rehearse. They were told they would perform the following day at 6AM," he claimed.
Malala further questioned the scheduling of the performance, noting that such early morning presentations are unprecedented in the festival's history.
"In the history of drama festivals, no item has ever been performed at 6. I thought this was a strategic step to ensure that Butere Girls are denied their rights to present. What kind of leadership is this that is competing with innocent girls?” he asked.
