A senator has sought an explanation from the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection over the increased number of people with disability begging on the streets of major towns.
Kirinyaga Senator James Murango who is seeking a statement from the Standing Committee on Labour and Social Welfare also wants the government to state steps being taken, if any, to provide them with necessary social assistance.
“In the statement, the Committee should state the number of persons registered with the National Council for Persons with Disability from 2022 to date,” he said.
He also wants the government to inform the Senate on the process of registration of Persons with Disabilities, recommending ways to simplify the procedure and make registration services more accessible.
The legislator wants the government to outline the criteria used to distribute assistive devices to PWDs.
He said the ministry should state why a high number of disabled persons still lack access to the necessary assistive devices and spell out measures, if any, put in place to ensure PWDs get them and health services for their various forms of disability.
In July 2022, at least 78 beggars allegedly from Tanzania were arrested in Nairobi in an operation targeting a secret trafficking network ring.
The ring brings the disabled persons from Tanzania and forces them into a life of modern-day slavery, begging on the streets of Nairobi.
The beggars have since spread to other rural towns in the country.
A BBC Africa Eye investigation exposed a trafficking network bringing in disabled children from poor rural regions of Tanzania and forcing them to beg on the streets of Nairobi.
It showed how the traffickers prey on the hopes of families in Tanzania, promising them a better life for themselves and their disabled children.
