Kenya to complete amendments of disability laws in two months

Kenya plans to complete amendment of its disability laws in the next two months, officials said on Tuesday.

National Council of Persons with Disability (NCPD) Chairman David Ole Sankok told journalists in Nairobi that the stakeholders have completed the draft bill.

"The amendments will soon be tabled in parliament so that it is enacted in the next two months," Sankok said during a Kenya National Association of the Deaf sensitization forum.

The day-long meeting was aimed at reviewing the key challenges affecting the deaf community. Kenya's current disability law was passed by parliament in 2003.

The East African nation has also ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Sankok said that some of the provisions of the existing law that are targeted for review include the laws on special education.

"We want to make it easier for children with disabilities to access learning facilities in order to reduce their illiteracy levels," he said.

Sankok noted that the law that governs exams will also be amended to ensure that national exams taken into account the needs of the disabled.

"Some students with physical disabilities need more time to conduct exams compared to other students," he added.

"We have seen cases where children with disabilities fail exams not because they lack knowledge but because of the inflexible examination rules," he said.

NCPD is proposing that it be given prosecutorial powers so that it takes to court those who flout disability laws.

Kenya's current law requires that all buildings have access for those with disability. However, very few buildings have complied with this provision.

The chairman said Kenya is yet to meet the constitutional threshold of at least five percent of legislators coming from disabled community.

According to the NCPD, approximately six million Kenyans are living with different types of disability. Endit