The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Faith Odhiambo has condemned the conduct of police officers who teargassed students from Butere Girls High School during the National Drama and Music Festival in Nakuru on Thursday, April 10, 2025.

In a statement posted on her X account shortly after the incident, Odhiambo said the police action was a brutal overreach and an assault on children’s rights. 

“There is no legitimacy that can be claimed by an administration that attacks its children. The most vulnerable, for whose benefit every decision must be made and every necessary action taken, have been turned into victims of state overreach and police impunity,” Odhiambo noted.

She added that while Kenyans are known to endure many challenges, targeting children engaged in creative, extracurricular activities is a red line.

“The people of Kenya can endure a lot, tolerate as much, and even condone some, but we can never be onlookers as our children are maimed for participating in extracurricular activities that have historically produced and nurtured our best talents,” she stated, calling on the National Police Service to be held accountable.

Human rights group Amnesty International Kenya also joined the growing list of voices condemning the incident. The organization described the police action as a clear violation of children’s rights and freedom of expression.

Teargassed

The students were leaving the festival venue when police lobbed teargas in the direction of their school bus. A video shared online shows terrified students coughing and shielding their eyes and noses from the choking fumes. Moments later, a group of police officers was seen escorting the bus out of the premises.

The incident unfolded after Butere Girls’ drama scriptwriter, former Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala, was arrested. While the school was still allowed to perform, the students chose instead to sing the national anthem and leave the stage, saying they had been harassed by police and demanding to know Malala’s whereabouts.

“We were harassed by the police. We went to the stage with nothing — no sound, no décor, nothing. So we sang the National Anthem and left,” one student said. 

“We want our director. We are not performing without our director,” several students shouted in unison.

“Where is Mr. Cleophas? We want him. We are not going back to Butere,” they said making it clear that without his presence and proper conditions, their performance would remain indefinitely suspended. By Ascah Mwango. People Daily