Malala alleges arrest over school play
The play had been banned but court lifted ban on April 3.
8d agoEMMANUEL WANJALARealtime
A collage of former DP Rigathi Gachagua and Cleophas Malala
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has condemned the chaos witnessed in Nakuru today as security agencies reportedly attempted to arrest former UDA Secretary General Cleophas Malala.
Taking to his social media account, Gachagua said the use of the criminal justice system to suppress creativity and social audit has reached alarming proportions.
"It is a shame of unimaginable proportion that dozens of DCI detectives in five vehicles have been dispatched to arrest and intimidate Senator Cleophas Malala for writing a script that has won its way to the National Drama Festival in Nakuru," Gachagua said.
Malala’s satirical piece, Echoes of War, which earned a spot at the National Drama Festival in Nakuru, is now at the center of a political storm.
According to Gachagua, what is happening to Malala is a blatant misuse of state power to silence a literary voice.
"The satirical play, Echoes of War, is innocent in itself in the literary universe, just to explain to those who feel threatened. In any case, the detectives will harass the messenger, but the message remains; this action only creates more awareness of the literary piece and the message," Gachagua said.
The former DP said instead of intimidation, the government should embrace critical voices and recognise the role of art in holding power to account.
He added that harassing creatives is a short-sighted move that ultimately backfires, as the message endures and resonates even louder.
Earlier, the former Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala claimed he had been arrested by the DCI as he prepared Butere Girls High School learners for Thursday's presentation of the play.
In a video clip seen by the Star, the former UDA Secretary General is seen in a standoff with police officers led by a man he said was the Nakuru area DCIO outside Kirobon Girls High School in Nakuru, the host of the National Drama Festivals.
Butere Girls had been banned from staging the Gen Z-themed play on 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.
