'What's your role here?' Murkomen questions Malala's presence at drama fete

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba has questioned Cleophas Malala's role and interest in the National Drama festivals. 

This is despite Malala being an active member of the drama community, with over 80 staged plays, all scripted by him.

According to Murkomen, the controversial play by Butere Girls, ‘Echoes of War’, was used to paint the government in a negative light. 

Despite the law promoting freedom of expression, Murkomen now says leaders and trainers should avoid using minors to pass their political agenda, adding that the Ministry will not allow it.

“As the security sector, we protect our children, and they have the right and freedom of expression. And they have a right to question the society and question the government of the day. However, there are boundaries that have been set in the education sector. They can use euphemism and different language,” said Murkomen.

• .

  Keep Reading

• 
  Till death do us part: Man battles divorce, defends religious vows
• 
  Creatives demand artistic freedom as curtains fall on drama festivals
• 
  Itumbi apologises to Butere Girls, says ban on Echoes of War 'unnecessary'
• 
  It's getting hot in here

He added that there is a need for classification where politicians will not be brought into the education arena and are barred from being scriptwriters.

“I wonder why a politician should be a script writer for a student performance. Even the competition loses value if we do not allow the teachers to be scriptwriters,” he said. 

According to the CS, scriptwriting should be entirely done by teachers, and if anyone wants to write or stage a play, they can do that and perform it in theatre halls and not in festivals.

His remarks come hours after Butere Girls refused to stage their play after mistreatment by festival officials and police officers.