By Ally Jamah
The draft constitution has been criticised for being insensitive towards the welfare of the disabled.
The bone of contention is that the Naivasha retreat deleted a clause in the Harmonised Draft, which allowed the disabled five per cent representation in elective positions and appointments.
Instead, the PSC proposed the disabled be catered for under the 12 nominated House seats shared out with other interest groups.
"This new formula is untenable because it depends on the whims of political parties to nominate a disabled person to Parliament. There should be guaranteed seats for the disabled, " said Kenya National Human Rights Commission chair Florence Jaoko.
"The disabled have been marginalised because they lack representation. The clauses about rights of the disabled were removed by the PSC because there was no one to represent them," said Isaac Mwaura, acting deputy director of National Council for People with Disabilities.
They also took issue with PSC’s move to expunge article 68 from the Harmonised Draft, which dealt with the rights of people with disabilities.
"The article was never contentious and it recognised the peculiar vulnerabilities of disabled people. We want it restored in its entirety," said the council’s chair Kibaya Laibuta.
The group also opposed the definition of a disabled person offered by the PSC in the draft.
"An error in definition may mean whatever laws that follow would be built on a defective foundation," said the CEO of United Disabled Persons of Kenya Hellen Obande.
At a news conference yesterday, the officials said the PSC draft had negated the gains made in the Harmonised Draft. "If we miss this chance to entrench our rights in the constitution, we will be forced to wait many more years before another opportunity comes," added Laibuta.
