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{
    "id": 1553397,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1553397/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 384,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Okiya Omtatah",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "The Ministry of Education has actually been quoted as saying that they have not banned that play. The court examined the play and found it not to be subversive. It ordered that the play be allowed to run. It ordered that the author be free to present his play. So, it is now a bit disturbing that some overzealous officers have taken it upon themselves to try and run it the wrong way. It is a matter of public record that Butere Girls is the alma mater of some prominent ladies in this country. Some of those ladies are supposed to have been vexed by the fact that their former school is being associated with this kind of performance. It is said that they are the ones behind the overreach by security forces to try and frustrate the play even when the Cabinet Secretary for Education has gone on record to say that they did not ban that play. I, therefore, would like to call upon those who are in charge of this country to ensure that we do not lose our focus in terms of what should be done. The use of excessive force against children is not acceptable. We are a democracy and the use of non-teaching staff in extracurricular activities like writing and directing plays like coaching people during football, volleyball, netball games for coaching kids during music festivals is allowed because a school is not an island. It is part of the wider community and it should interact with the wider community. I have seen some people say that Hon. Malala is a politician, but I am also a published playwright for those who do not know. I am probably the topmost playwright living in Kenya today. I have written and published plays. My plays are being taught in the black drama series in the United States of America. That does not mean that I am a lesser human being who cannot engage with a school. Does it mean that I cannot go, with my vast experience, into a school and participate in drama festival? So, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, as a country, we are dancing down a very dangerous and slippery slope that is going to attempt to stifle freedom of expression. Above all, after a court has ordered, assuming there was a dispute and there was no emergency, there were just overzealous individuals; assuming there was a dispute, the court has resolved that dispute by giving specific orders, we cannot afford to defy those orders. If you do not agree with the orders, go back to the court that issued them and demand that they be lifted. Do not try to take the law into your own hands and do whatever you want. So, in terms of insubordination that we are also talking about in this particular Motion, I feel that this culture of insubordination to legitimate authority needs to be addressed, so that we do not end up being our own enemies. We do not end up harming the fabric that holds this country together, and we proceed to encourage the creative arts to help us look at and help us understand what exactly we are entitled to, as a people. The Echoes of War is a beautiful script whose performance should be allowed to go free of charge. I condemn in the strongest terms possible the arrest and the detention of the author, the former Senator for Kakamega County, Hon. Malala. I pray that those who did that be brought to book. This is one thing that deserves a Motion or a Statement to be brought to this House, so that we can understand what is happening in Nakuru. We cannot leave it to overzealous individuals and random nationalists to come and try to tell us the “do's” or The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}