Former Kakamega senator, playwright and director Cleophas Malala has criticised what he describes as government interference in school drama festivals, following the failure of State House Girls High School to present its play at the regional level.
Speaking on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, Malala revealed that he wrote and directed the play Sanctuary of the Broken Souls for theschool, claiming it had successfully qualified for the regional drama competitions but was blocked under controversial circumstances.
According to him, senior officials within the education and drama festival structures intimidated the school’s administration, warning of serious consequences if the play was staged.
“When a government fears students, it has already lost the argument. It is very unfortunate for a government to be paranoid about its own citizens. I am very disappointed to hear that a play was disallowed to proceed to the next stage just because it had insinuations of the president’s desires to take the country to Singapore,” he decried.
“I think after Echoes of War, the drama committee has become very paranoid; it has become a puppet of the executive.”
The outspoken playwright alleged that the school’s principal was threatened with interdiction by officials, including the executive secretary for drama and a director in charge of curriculum, just days before the regional performances.
As a result, the students did not present their play even though they had earned their spot.
“This year I wrote a play, and I was directing a play called The Sanctuary of the Broken Souls, staged by State House Girls, and we went to the first level; they qualified to the regionals level, but days before, the executive secretary for drama and the director for curriculum called the principal and intimidated and threatened the principal to be interdicted if that play comes to the regionals.”
The former legislator further questioned the broader implications of the incident, asking whether lesser-known schools would face even harsher treatment.
“Sadly, the girls did not perform at the regionals, and if this level of impunity can be done to State House Girls, what about Bamulkungu Secondary School.”
