PWDs seek suspension of Nakuru budget over Sh27.5m disability funds

Persons with Disabilities outside the Nakuru County Assembly after presenting their grievances over the county disability fund. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

Persons with Disabilities (PWD) have threatened to move to court within the next five days to seek orders suspending the 2026/2027 Nakuru County Budget until their queries on disability funds are addressed.

The group did not receive Sh27.5 million allocated to them in the 2025/2026 budget, and they were also left out of the 2026/2027 budget without reasonable explanations.

On Wednesday afternoon, the group marched to the County Assembly following summons over a petition they had filed, but the visit proved futile.

In the meeting presided over by the County Assembly Committee on Budget, county officials engaged in blame game over what happened to PWDs’ funds instead of providing solutions.

“The Youth and Sports Department blamed the Finance Department while the Finance Department shifted the blame to the accountant. In the end, there were no solutions,” said George Adera, a representative of PWDs.

Tired of the frustration, the PWDs stated that they would be proceeding to court to seek orders suspending the new budget until they get answers on their funds.

In a statement they issued outside the County Assembly, the group demanded accountability for their funds in the two financial years.

“Our continued efforts for accountability and transparency regarding the Disability Funds, including peaceful protests, have been futile,” they said.

The group said that on September 7, 2026, they formally submitted access to Information requests to several responsible offices within the Nakuru County Government.

They also petitioned the county assembly and wrote to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to investigate the matter.

“We gave the responsible offices time to provide substantive responses. Despite the expiry of the stated periods, we received no satisfactory response,” they said.

On September 15, the PWDs held a peaceful protest within Nakuru city, demanding answers. They marched to the County offices where the County Secretary assured them that their matter would be addressed.

They held a meeting with the County Secretary, the CECM for Social Services, and other officials, who gave verbal commitments, but the PWDs demanded a written, signed, and stamped commitment.

They said they gave the county government a three-day ultimatum to respond to the issues raised.

The three days lapsed on Friday last week but they are yet to receive a substantive response addressing their queries.

“We consider the continued failure to provide information and respond to legitimate accountability questions on funds intended for PWDs to be a matter of serious public interest,” they stated.

Having exhausted all administrative avenues, they said they were determined to pursue legal action.

They would be seeking orders to stop the implementation of the 2026/27 Nakuru County Budget by all means possible until they get answers.

“We emphasise that our actions are peaceful and are intended to uphold transparency, accountability, public participation and the rights of persons with disabilities,” they wrote.

Apart from protesting the Sh27.5 million in funds, the group questions why their allocation was reduced from Sh55 million to Sh27.5 million over the last four years.

The group also protests the lack of job absorption, noting that out of 6,000 government employees, only 112 had been employed, contrary to the 5 per cent provision under the PWD Act of 2025.

The group also sought waivers, especially in taxes, and cried for caregivers who nurse children with disabilities, urging the government to release funds for them to survive.

“We ask for money to be able to buy diapers, medicine and physiotherapy for our children. We are suffering as mothers,” said Peris Wanjiru, a caregiver.

Further, the group demanded that bursary allocations to students in both senior schools and tertiary institutions be adjusted to bring them into balance with others.

In response, the Department of Sports, Gender, and Inclusivity, responsible for PWDs, said it had done everything it could to ensure the funds were disbursed.

CECM Elga Riaga shifted blame to other responsible departments and the Controller of Budget over an alleged audit query that stopped the disbursement.

“The money was not disbursed to the PWDs. Our office, however, played its role in the process to ensure the funds are disbursed,” she responded.

The department stated that in the financial year 2026/2027, PWD funds were programmed to be included in the supplementary budget in February 2027, owing to the little funds her office received.