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{
    "id": 443727,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/443727/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 274,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Muchai",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1623,
        "legal_name": "George Mukuru Muchai",
        "slug": "george-mukuru-muchai"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, for giving me this opportunity to speak to this Bill. I want to begin by congratulating hon. Wanjiku Muhia for making a wake-up call to all Kenyans to the realization of the plight of persons living with disabilities. A right is right, no matter how many people are against it and a wrong is a wrong no matter how many are for it. Hon. Muhia has brought a right Bill for persons living with disabilities. As has been said by the previous speakers, every able-bodied person has the potential to become a disabled. I want to cite a case. Before the last general election, I was a victim of an armed gangster attack, where I survived both death and disability by a whisker. I speak to this Bill with a lot of passion because on the operating table my doctor told me, “You nearly lost your leg!” I imagine what it would have meant had I actually lost the leg. I want to look at this issue more broadly because there are certain things that I do not think the Bill adequately addresses. At the appropriate time during the Committee Stage, and in consultation with hon. Muhia, I will be seeking to bring some amendments to this Bill. One, I would like to bring an amendment that all buildings that do not conform to the requirements of the intended law by the time the law comes into place must be required to conform. Secondly, with regard to access to all places, let us not just look at the buildings. We have Zebra Crossings. I am a very widely travelled person. I know the globe like the back of my palm. In certain developed countries, you will find that at Zebra Crossings a warning is afforded to a person who is visually impaired to know that the lights have turned green for them to go across. So, when we talk about access to places, we must be broad enough to include even Zebra Crossings, so that we remove from the mind of the people that when you talk of “all places” you mean only buildings. Let us be alive to the fact that we are not only providing this law for Kenyans living with disabilities in Kenya. We should be alive to the fact that we will also have visitors coming to this country who may also be living with disabilities; we must ensure that in the expansion of our cities we provide adequate facilities for persons living with disability. 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."
}