This archive report was first published on 26 August 2021.
On Thursday, August 26, 2021, Kenya's Political Parties Registrar, Anne Nderitu, addressed a gathering of PLWDs who are officials in some of the 75 registered political parties in Kenya.
Ms. Nderitu condemned the delay in affirmative action for PLWDs, stating that they have not been given a conducive space to push their ambitions through political parties.
She challenged political parties to shift from an archaic approach and rope in the special interest group, dealing with the divisions that exist among PLWDs themselves.
“Affirmative action on PLWDs is slower compared with those involving women, youth, and marginalized groups …..As we think of the political space, segregation still exists, hence the place for political parties to champion the rights of these groups …..Let us deal with segregation among disabled persons. Let’s not divide further amongst yourselves,” Nderitu said.
Ms. Nderitu further advised political parties to form active PLWD leagues and urged parties to register more PLWDs as members, noting that the current register has a low number of the interest group registered in comparison to the country’s population.
According to data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, PLWDs make up 2.2% of the general population.
