John Sibi Okumu's play, Kaggia was the first play to be staged at the launch of the new Mageuzi Theatre, located within the PAWA 254 building on State House Crescent. The play centres upon the quest by two young film makers Stacey (Yiirimo Mwaura) and Xan (Bruce Makau) to find cinematic material in the lives of freedom fighter Bildad M Kaggia, (Harry Ebale) one of the famous Kapenguria Six, who were detained for many years in the build-up to Kenya’s independence and his unflinchingly loyal wife Wambui (Lydiah Gitachu).
The theatre was officially opened by Swedish Ambassador to Kenya Johan Borgstam, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Kenya Willy Mutunga and the Founder of Pawa 254 Boniface Mwangi.
"When Pawa254 first opened its doors in November 2011, we had only one chair, brought to us by an aspiring member. One chair. We also had a full time staff of one, our community manager David Mutua, and two volunteers. Every week for several months, each member of our team was assigned to toilet-cleaning duty, because we couldn’t to pay a cleaner. That was three and a half years ago. Today it seems like it’s a distant memory, partly because of the faith our partners and our members have in us," Boniface said at the launch.
"The highlight of the year has to be our new theatre – The Mageuzi Theatre. This is the first public performance arts space built in Nairobi in over thirty years, built with the generous support of Swedish International Development Cooperation (SIDA). This incredible facility will house plays, concerts, poetry performances, ARTivism training and exhibitions for years to come."
