The Head of Presidential Special Projects, Dennis Itumbi, has issued an apology to students of Butere Girls High School following the teargassing incident that disrupted the performance of their play, Echoes of War.
Speaking in an interview on Thursday, April 17, Itumbi condemned the handling of the situation and pledged corrective action.
“On behalf of the government, I apologize to all the girls of Butere Girls for the teargas that was meted out to them. We are not only sorry for the teargas but also for not managing this to the very end. I promise to sit down with my team and come up with remedies on what can be done,” he said.
Itumbi also weighed in on the controversy surrounding the cancellation of the play itself, criticizing the decision and defending the students' right to perform.
“I belong to the people who say that it was absolutely unnecessary to stop the play from being performed. There is always the assumption that if you work for the government, you hold a certain position.
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"This festival is fully funded by the Government of Kenya. To be fair, the government has a point in making rules. The issue of Butere Girls changed from a play to a school discipline issue,” he added.
Police fired teargas on Wednesday, April 9, at Kiboron High School while arresting former Kakamega Senator and the playwright of Echoes of War, Cleophas Malala.
The following day, Butere Girls' students refused to perform the play following Malala's arrest.
The students who were set to perform the play on Thursday morning, April 10, demanded the presence of Malala before performing.
Additionally, one of the students cited police harassment and a poor stage setup for their play.
“We were harassed by the police, they took us to the stage with nothing. We sang our national anthem and said we are not going to perform,” she said.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba later refuted claims that the government barred Butere Girls' from performing the play.
Speaking on Thursday, April 10, Ogamba clarified that the students were given the opportunity to perform but declined on their own accord.
He said the students’ refusal to perform was not prompted by any government interference but by their own decision.
"You are very aware that the students were allowed to perform. But when they came to the stage and after the national anthem, one of them stepped forward and said they are not willing to perform without their director, Cleophas Malala, who is not a teacher or a director at Butere Girls' High School. So, the students, at their own volition, decided not to participate," he stated.
