Ms Tessie Musalia has appealed to the government to establish centres where persons living with disabilities (PWDs) can report cases of abuse for prompt legal action against perpetrators.
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi’s wife said crimes committed against PWDs, including assault and sexual molestation of children living with disabilities, were either being reported late or not reported thereby denying victims justice.
“Majority of PWDs cannot get to the police stations to record statements and when they manage to, the perpetrators will have already gone into hiding,” she said.
Accompanied by Ahadi Trust CEO Stanley Kamau and Isiolo Woman Rep Mumina Bonaya, Ms Musalia said establishing National Police offices in the villages will bring services closer to the group and assist in expediting justice for the victims.
She spoke during Saturday’s celebrations to mark International Day for PWDs at Isiolo town police grounds where she launched mass registration of members together with County Commissioner Geoffrey Omoding. The theme was “Transformative Solutions for inclusive development: The role of innovation in fueling an accessible and equitable world.”
Dr Kamau asked national and county governments to ensure building approvals are PWD friendly, saying the majority of the structures lacked pathways to enable the group to access government offices.
“They (PWDs) miss out on a lot of opportunities because they cannot access government offices. The government should also ensure children living with disabilities have textbooks,” he said while calling for transparency in the distribution of funds and support to PWDs.
Ms Musalia had earlier visited the home of Ms Faith Nkirote, whose three children have different types of disabilities, at Public Works in Isiolo town where she supervised the registration of the children. She hailed the government for the new generation Identity cards for PWDs saying it will help curb fraud, bring services closer to people and aid in getting socio-economic data for the PWDs in Kenya.
“Getting registered will enable you to benefit from government opportunities,” she said.
Ms Bonaya and Deputy Governor James Lowasa said a big number of PWDs in the county had not been reached, making them miss out on crucial services and opportunities such as jobs, bursaries and contracts.
“We will ensure they are given preferential treatment by the government. I appeal to them to also seize the opportunities through applying for the jobs and other opportunities,” she said. Mr Lowasa said the county government was committed to empowering the group through nurturing talents, offering them jobs and enrolling them on national health insurance cover.
“The huge turnout shows we have so many PWDs out there. We will reach out to them because reports show they constitute 15 per cent of Isiolo residents,” he said.
Mr Mohammed Abdullahi Medize, a representative of PWDs, decried the inability of PWDs to access proper health care and asked the government to ensure their inclusion.
Mr Omoding asked chiefs and their assistants to ensure all PWDs within their jurisdictions are registered so that they benefit from President William Ruto’s administration.
Ms Musalia also asked the government and private donors to involve community social workers in the distribution of relief food so that vulnerable groups that include PWDs and the elderly are reached.
She distributed foodstuff to 600 vulnerable families with PWDs donated by Mudavadi Memorial Foundation Trust Fund. BY DAILY NATION