π¬ππππ πΎπππππ π΅πππ ππππππππ ππππππππ ππππ πππ π¬ππππ πΎπππππ π΅πππ10/04/2025
Government's Use of Excessive Force Against Students of Butere Girls High School
We, the concerned citizens and defenders of constitutional order, strongly condemn the abhorrent and unlawful use of excessive force, including the deployment of teargas, against the innocent students of Butere Girls High School. The students, whose only βcrimeβ was participating in a creative and educational expression through drama, have become victims of a state machinery bent on silencing truth and suppressing youthful voices.
This is a direct violation of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, and several key legal provisions:
1. Article 33 β Freedom of Expression
Every person has the right to freedom of expression, which includes freedom to seek, receive or impart information or ideas. The governmentβs forceful suppression of the play Echoes of War constitutes a blatant violation of this right.
2. Article 37 β Right to Assembly, Demonstration, Picket and Petition
The students had every right to gather and participate in a national festival. The use of teargas to disperse them is a clear breach of their constitutional right to peacefully assemble.
3. Article 53(1)(d) β Rights of Children
Every child has the right to be protected from abuse, neglect, harmful cultural practices, all forms of violence, inhuman treatment, and punishment. The government, by deploying police officers to hurl teargas at schoolgirls, has directly violated this fundamental right.
4. Article 28 β Human Dignity
Every person has inherent dignity and the right to have that dignity respected and protected. The psychological trauma inflicted upon these students not only demeans their dignity but sets a dangerous precedent for how the state treats its young citizens.
5. The Basic Education Act, 2013 (Cap 211A)
This Act obligates the government to ensure the provision of free and compulsory basic education and to promote the rights of every learner. Disrupting a schoolβs co-curricular program through intimidation and violence undermines the very spirit of this law.
6. Children Act No. 8 of 2001 (revised 2022)
Section 5 provides for protection from all forms of abuse and violence. The stateβs violent actions contravene this protective clause and amount to child abuse.
7. Penal Code Cap 63
Under Sections dealing with assault and unlawful use of force, officers involved in the unnecessary deployment of teargas against unarmed children may be held individually liable.
We demand:
An immediate and unconditional apology from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Interior.
The arrest and prosecution of officers involved in the assault of students.
Full implementation of the High Court order allowing Butere Girls to participate in the National Drama Festivals.
A parliamentary inquiry into the misuse of state power against school children.
Let it be known: creative expression is not a crime. Truth in art should never be silenced by the tyranny of the state. Kenya is a constitutional democracy, not a police state. The voices of the young must be protected, not punished.
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Babu Owino
Nairobi News
Tuko.co.ke
Alinur Mohamed
