'Echoes of war' isn't an innocent play; it's incitement to violence

Butere Girls High Students declined to perform the controversial 'Echoes of War' play at Melvin Jones in Nakuru during the 63rd edition of the Kenya National Drama and Film Festival on April 10, 2025. [Benjamin Sakwa, Standard]

Kenya sits precariously on a fragile pedestal, struggling to contain tribal violence and long-standing balkanisation fueled by hate speech and unpatriotic narratives. The 'Echoes of war' play is laced with rebellious undertones that cannot be permitted. Our democratic framework is so loose that ethnically-charged rhetoric and entrenched tribalism will quickly plunge Kenya to chaos.

As the 2027 election campaigns gain momentum, drum-beats of war have been beaten and political incitement is rife. We have forgotten the post-election violence of 1992, 1997, and 2007.