Former UDA secretary general Cleophas Malala has broken his silence after he was arrested on Wednesday night.
Speaking to Spice FM, Malala said that he was being held at Eldama Ravine police station and the police had told him nothing up to now.
He said that he is waiting to see what the next course of action will be.
“They have told me nothing. I have been behind bars since yesterday at around 11 pm, nobody is talking to me. I am just in the police cells waiting for the next course of action and I’m shocked that no government official has talked to me since yesterday. I am at Eldama Ravine Police station,” he said in a phone interview.
His arrest followed a standoff with the police outside Kirobon Girls High School in Rongai subcounty, Nakuru
According to Malala, police arrived at the school hosting schools participating in the Kenya Schools and Colleges National Drama and Film Festival to prevent him from overseeing the rehearsal of Echoes of War, a play by Kakamega’s Butere Girls’ High School.
Malala is the playwright and director of the controversial piece of drama.
Police had to fire tear gas to disperse crowds that had gathered to witness a stand-off.
Malala described the events of Wednesday as ugly, saying that he was disappointed with the way authorities handled the matter.
“Last night was quite an ugly night for Kenya. We are very disappointed in the manner in which the government is handling this matter.”
The play was banned, and it only took the intervention of the Courts to have it reinstated for performing at the National Drama and Film Festival in Nakuru.
Butere Girls had been banned from staging their Gen Z-themed play on the grounds that its theme critiques the government.
The court, however, lifted the ban on April 3 when Justice Wilfrida Okwany suspended any letter banning or barring the school from participating in the festival.
The play explores contemporary issues like technology, governance and social justice, particularly relevant to Gen Z, and the struggle for young people on civil liberties.
Malala added that he sympathiSes with the learners of Butere Girls for what they have had to go through because of the play.
“I empathise with the young talents of Butere Girls who have given themselves to nurture talents and expose evil deeds of this country through arts.
“Drama festival has been there for a very long time and we have a variety of things being exposed at the National Drama Festival and it is unfortunate for the officials to victimise young souls who are just out to expose what they think is the rot in society. I want to urge everybody who is in charge of the drama festival to sober up, this is just a play and it has nothing to do with incitement, or name-calling.”
by BRIAN ORUTA
