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{
    "id": 1418158,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1418158/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 216,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Suba North, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Millie Odhiambo-Mabona",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I wish to congratulate and thank the Committee for bringing this Report. As a person who has worked on the issues of equality, equity and inclusion over the years, the Report of the Committee is timely. The challenge in Kenya is not lack of a legislative framework, but on implementation. The Constitution is very clear, as it is indicated in the Committee’s Report. It is just a question of compliance to Article 54(2) of the Constitution. It is very clear on the percentage of PWDs who should be employed in Government entities. Because of our entrenched culture of impunity, we pass laws for the sake of doing it. Because of that, we are not committed to ensure that we give effect to the laws that we pass. I challenge the Select Committee on Implementation. Other than the reports that are brought by the specific committees, they should also follow up and ensure that when we pass laws, they are implemented. It is not only this one. We also passed the Victim Protection Act, which is an excellent piece of legislation. However, we have refused to operationalise it. As a country, the challenge we have is the culture of impunity and failure to implement laws. I do not want to say much about PWDs because all of us know the challenges that they go through. I challenge the Committee that beyond the numbers of people who are not employed according to the Constitution, they should do an audit of public infrastructure and how friendly it is to PWDs. We also need to be very clear and have disaggregated data on the kinds of disabilities and how widespread they are, even by gender. Women with disabilities face even greater challenges than men with disabilities. I will give an example of a family in my constituency, Mbita Point area around Milimani, of a woman whose husband has a disability. She has 5 children with severe disabilities. I do not want to call them children because they are adults now. The persons with severe disabilities are raped, they have children and nobody takes care of them. I challenge the Committee to recommend to the Government to set up an institution that can fully take care of cases of severe disabilities. When you leave an individual to take care of a person with severe disabilities, then you affect his or her mental health. Recently, many of us saw a young lady who went viral because she was complaining that she has a mother who suffers from schizophrenia and a brother who has severe disability. She has to take care of her mother who has a mental challenge and her brother. That lady appealed for help and she said that she was at a point where she was about to commit suicide. Why should she commit suicide when, as a country, we can set aside resources to help in such situations. I want to encourage the Committee to explore the institutionalisation that is covered by the Government for persons with severe disability and for persons that have lasting mental challenges. There is too much strain on their caregivers."
}