Kibaki date with drama queens and kings
WINNING PLAY: Primary pupils of Nakuru Lions celebrates after their play Facts was awarded the winning play in primary schools category during the Schools and Colleges National Drama festival at Bomas of Kenya on Wednesday night.
Top Kenyan leaders will Friday watch as pupils and students make bare, the ills afflicting society, many of them caused by the leaders themselves.
Among the leaders, will be President Mwai Kibaki, who will sample the best plays of the Kenya Schools and Colleges drama festival at State House Gardens.
Nakuru Lions, whose play, Facts, is this year’s winner in the primary school category, is expected to present the play. For five years in a row, the pupils have won the primary school plays category.
They were followed by Golden Elite School, with their play, Torn Portrait, directed by Allan Ochieng’, a play about the bad influence of parents on children. Carol Academy were third with the play Here They Come.
United States International University won in the universities category, with runners up being Catholic University of Eastern Africa and the second runners up being Mount Kenya University
The 52nd edition of the Kenya Schools and Colleges drama festival was sponsored by Mumias Sugar.
Alliance Girls High School were the winners in the secondary school play category. Their play, Hell’s Kitchen also scooped the best director Fred Omondi. Alliance Girls also produced the most talented dramatist, Josephine Okumu.
Kakamega High School were second with the play The Innocent. Laiser Hill Academy from Ongata Rongai in Rift Valley were third with a play touching on WikiLeaks.
Kakamega High School, last year’s winners in the dance category, maintained their trophy in a powerful and well choreographed dance Musumi. The school also won the best choreographer Author Odenyi.
Nation Media Group newspaper, Taifa Leo, donated trophies to the best item in Kiswahili.
The winners were Kinondo Secondary School, Ngala Memorial and St. Augustine’s Mlolongo, respectively.
In the colleges category Kenya Institute of Mass Communication carried the day in the play and dance category. Their play titled Quagmire Royale was also awarded the best production, best directed play and best play in English.
Bomas of Kenya
Ululation and applause rocked the hall when the winners were announced at the Bomas of Kenya on Wednesday night.
Education minister Sam Ongeri said: “I’m deeply impressed by the performances here by the participants and in particular the younger children.”
The minister said bringing on board the Early Childhood Development Centres into the competition exposed them to new language, art and made them appreciate life and get the opportunity to reach their potential early.
He praised the sponsors of the drama festival and urged other firms to come on board and help the young children of Kenya nurture their talents.
He said his ministry was working in tandem with other organisations to help the young people develop, adding that the ministry, together with Unicef, will set up talent academies in the country.
“I will be fighting hard in my ministry to put more resources in extra-curricular activities,” said Prof Ongeri.
He directed ministry officials to channel their energies towards local movies to compete with other Afro-Cinema.
This he said was possible because we have good stories emanating from the festivals.
He suggested that his ministry works with Kenya Film Corporation and Kenya Institute of Education (KIE) to develop drama scripts into film.
