- According to the 2009 national census, the number of persons living with albinism was 9,729.
- Mwaura, who has been pushing for the amendments, said he still has hope the Bill will see light in the next Parliament.
Image: JOHN CHESOLI
Persons with albinism have continued their push to have the government recognise their condition as a disability.
The push to amend the Persons with Disability Act to include albinism as a disability has stalled since the 11th Parliament, nominated Senator Isaac Mwaura said.
He said the Bill only reached the second reading stage in the 12th Parliament, which adjourned last week.
According to the 2009 national census, the number of persons living with albinism was 9,729.
Mwaura, who has been pushing for the amendments, said he still has hope the Bill will see light in the next Parliament.
“When I first introduced the amendments on the floor of the 11th Parliament, the Bill went up to the first reading. However, the then PS Susan Mochache wrote to me saying I should take the Bill to the Cabinet, where it stalled,” Mwaura said.
Mwaura was then a nominated MP under ODM.
He spoke in a Mombasa hotel during the Beauty Pageant Competition for Persons with Albinism.
The competition was a pre-event for the commemoration of the International Albinism Awareness Day marked every June 13 since 2015.
This year’s theme is, ‘History and Significance’.
In 2017, Mwaura was nominated as a senator by the ruling Jubilee Party.
He said he embarked on an exercise to push for the amendment in the Persons with Disability Act.
“We have proceeded with the Amendment Bill, which has now gone up to the second reading at the Senate. Unfortunately, the House is also adjourning on Thursday and the Bill will not have seen the light for two terms,” he said.
Mwaura said he did not want to pursue the route of formulating a separate Persons with Albinism Act, saying that this would segregate them from the rest of other people with disabilities covered by the Disability Act.
He, however, said the country has been very progressive in terms of recognising people with albinism.
He managed to push for the registration of the People with Albinism Society, in which he sits as a board member.
The society has been able to push for issues affecting the community to be included in the sector policy for learners with disability in the country.
“We can say that something is being done in terms of the policy. Kenya is the only country that has a fully-fledged programme for people with albinism. That module has been copied in 10 African countries, including Malawi,” he said.
However, he said that much is still needed to be done to end the stigma associated with persons with albinism.
“We are not there yet. We continue to be seen as lesser human beings, our voices are muzzled, our achievements understated and many of us are dying from skin cancer because of not being able to access proper medical care,” he said.
He said that they were now in the process of developing an action plan for persons with albinism which he said was almost nearing completion.
The nominated senator added that they are going to have a final validation meeting in Mombasa by the end of July that will outline a five-year plan of what the government will be doing to protect people with albinism.
Mwaura is also pushing for Kenya to support the appointment of an African Union special envoy for people with albinism.
This, he said, will ensure that the community has a continental representative in the UN to champion their rights and inclusion.
(edited by Amol Awuor)