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{
    "id": 1151579,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1151579/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 71,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kipipiri, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Amos Kimunya",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 174,
        "legal_name": "Amos Muhinga Kimunya",
        "slug": "amos-kimunya"
    },
    "content": "The primary purpose of this Bill is to modernise the current law that relates to persons with disabilities, noting that the current law is actually the Persons with Disabilities Act No. 14 of 2003. It is almost 19 years since the last law relating to people with disabilities was enacted, yet so many events have taken place, which I will be enumerating. We also know that the Act has several deficits and loopholes partly to do with the requirements of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, which have not been updated. Hon. Speaker, the Kenya Population and Housing Census 2019, which is the only document that we have, lists about 2.2 per cent of all Kenyans as having a form of disability, with the most prevalent types being disabilities to do with mobility and capacity related. Hence, this Bill comes into this House with an intention of catering for approximately 1.5 million Kenyans. We keep hearing that there are 6.5 million people living with disabilities represented in this House, but the only record I can find is the Kenya Population and Housing Census of 2019 which puts that number at approximately 1.5 million. I do not believe that between 2019 and now, the number of people living with disabilities has increased exponentially to come to 6.5 million. However, we have 1.5 million Kenyans that we need to take care of. In this regard, this Bill recognises all rights and entitlements of these people in this special category. Borrowing from the Constitution, the rights are basically; the right to equality and non- discrimination, the right to legal capacity, the right to marry and form a family, the right to privacy, the right to physical and mental integrity and all that in the Bill of Rights. The ones listed are the specific ones relevant to these group of persons. Additionally, the Bill spells out some rights and terms that are unique to persons with disabilities, including the right not to be dismissed on account of any form of disability and also the right to independent living, the right to participate in sports and recreation within a situation where there are no barriers to their participation and several others that will be captured. While putting this into perspective, since the enactment of the current Act in 2003, some developments that I did mention include: In 2008, Kenya became a party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) enshrined in 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which established transformative norms and standards on the rights of persons with disabilities. In 2010, the Constitution of Kenya was promulgated including specific and robust provisions covering the rights of persons with disabilities. In 2015, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities issued its technical initial concluding resolutions to Kenya, making a number of recommendations on how our great Republic should ensure the rights of persons with disabilities. Finally, January this year, just about five months ago, Kenya deposited its instruments of ratification on the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the rights of people with disabilities in Africa 2008, which is referred to as the Disability Rights Protocol which affirms the rights of persons with disabilities on the Continent. Hon. Speaker, the National Council for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) indicates that there have been numerous unsuccessful attempts to have this Bill and notes that both protracted and lengthy stakeholder-consultations have been a big hindrance. I am happy that at long last people have realised that you can only over analyse a situation until you paralyse it and this is one of those situations where so much analysis and everyone wanting their say in this Bill was leading to putting a disability on the Bill. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}