03/12/2025
Statement by CREAD Executive Officer, Mr. Mike Ngunyi on International Day of Persons with Disabilities, 2025
STRENGTHEN PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (2025) TO FOSTER INCLUSIVE SOCIETIES AND ADVANCE SOCIAL PROGRESS
Nairobi, 3rd December, 2025
On this International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2025, under the theme “Fostering Disability-Inclusive Societies for Advancing Social Progress,” we at the Centre for Disability Rights Education and Advocacy (CREAD) welcomes the progressive spirit of Kenya’s Persons with Disabilities Act, 2025, while calling for urgent reforms to ensure it fully enables inclusion and progress for all.
The Act represents a historic step, embedding strong protections in accessibility, non-discrimination, employment, and political participation. These advances align with this year’s global emphasis on building societies where persons with disabilities can thrive and contribute equally to social progress.
However, CREAD’s new policy brief reveals that the Act falls short in securing foundational civil rights, which are essential for meaningful inclusion. Critical gaps include:
• Legal Capacity: The Act retains substitute decision-making instead of establishing supported decision-making, denying autonomy and agency.
• Independent Living: It lacks an explicit ban on forced institutionalization, undermining the right to live independently in the community.
• Inclusive Education: By preserving “special schools,” it perpetuates segregation, contradicting the right to fully inclusive education.
These omissions prevent Kenya from truly fostering the disability-inclusive societies envisioned by the CRPD and this year’s theme. Without equal legal capacity, freedom of choice, and access to inclusive education, social progress remains partial and exclusionary.
CREAD urges lawmakers and stakeholders to prioritize amendments that:
1. Introduce supported decision-making and abolish guardianship.
2. Prohibit forced institutionalization and affirm community-based living.
3. Remove provisions endorsing segregated education and strengthen inclusive schooling mandates.
Only by closing these gaps can Kenya ensure that all persons with disabilities participate fully, drive social progress, and enjoy equal rights in a truly inclusive society.
About CREAD:
Centre for Disability Rights Education and Advocacy (CREAD) works to advance the rights, equality, and full inclusion of persons with disabilities through legal aid, strategic litigation, disability inclusion training, and advocacy.
Contact: +254710188066
[email protected]
www.cread.or.ke
