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{
    "id": 620775,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/620775/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 109,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Mwaura",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13129,
        "legal_name": "Isaac Maigua Mwaura",
        "slug": "isaac-mwaura"
    },
    "content": "Even in our Parliament, we are still very inaccessible to persons with disabilities, especially those with mobility disabilities. I am the Chairman of the Kenya Disability Parliamentary Association and our colleagues on the Floor of this House are not even able to sit with us as they would like. They sit at the back where they can be located. This is because when this building was being refurbished, there was no consideration for persons with disabilities. My very good friend, Hon. Tim Wanyonyi is here. I think he is a true Back-bencher. That is the greatest essence of exclusion; that when we conceptualize the built environment and think about the usability of our public spaces, we do not imagine that persons with disabilities can participate on equal basis with others in matters public. There is very high level of poverty amongst persons with disabilities. If you look at the number of children that are in school, you will find that very few of them are children with disabilities. The question is why? This is because even the classrooms are not accessible to children with disabilities. If you look at hospitals, you will also find that they are not accessible to persons with disabilities. So, patients with disabilities face challenges when they seek services there. If you look at our courts, even when you are a practising lawyer, you will find that you have to be carried upstairs to attend court sessions. That insensitivity does not just stop with inaccessible means. For example, you will find that most of the time lifts in public buildings are not working. They also do not have a voice command for those who are visually impaired. This is the case and yet we say that we, indeed, would like to implement the letter and spirit of the Constitution. I think there is no greater barrier than this, that when persons with disabilities are supposed to participate they cannot do so. Primarily, this is because they are not individuals of concern when we are conceptualizing how we build our environment, make our plans, constitute and organize our society. 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."
}