NAIROBI — The autobiographical play "Free Me" was restaged this month at the Chandaria Jain Social Group auditorium in Nairobi. The play by Kenyan theatre and TV producer Gathoni Kimuyu addresses gender-based violence.

"Free Me" was first performed in November. Kimuyu indicated that the restaging was due to the ongoing relevance of its themes, stating, "One of the reasons why we're restaging this show is because of how important it is to the conversations that we're having now and for the change that we're looking for as women and as a country."

Kimuyu, 41, noted the current prevalence of violence against women in Kenya. "When we look at the numbers in Kenya right now, cases of femicide, sexual abuse, physical abuse – any type of abuse against women – are very high," she said. She added, "And the numbers just keep rising and rising."

Director and co-writer Mugambi Nthiga commented on the play's context. "This is a play about gender-based violence about someone who lived [through it], but it's being staged in a reality where there's more than one woman every day who is not so lucky [and] who doesn't get to have the same kind of ending that this play does," Nthiga said. He also noted that the play tells a true story of survival, stating, "This is not just a story. This is someone's true story. And it's a story of someone who's able to get out of it."

Renee Gichuki, who plays Kimuyu at age 16 in "Free Me," said that gender-based violence affects many people. "The person standing next to you has experienced it or knows someone who has experienced it," Gichuki said. She also stated that the play serves an educational purpose for all audiences, noting, "We are educating and we are shedding light to both parties to know what can be done differently."

Kimuyu's play covers her life from her teenage years in the early 2000s to the present day. Five actors portray Kimuyu at different ages in the production. Tobit Tom plays the husband character.

Hundreds of women marched in Nairobi this month to protest against violence targeting women. Protesters called on the Kenyan government to declare gender-based violence a national crisis. In January 2025, the government established a technical working group to identify trends, hotspots, and causes of gender-based violence and femicide. The working group's report cited social and cultural factors, including patriarchal structures and gender inequality, as causes of gender-based violence. The report recommended amending the law to define and codify femicide as a distinct offense from murder and urged the president to declare gender-based violence a national crisis. The government has not implemented these recommendations.