Senators grill Mombasa governor over poor accessibility to public buildings for PWDs

Senators on Wednesday grilled Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Sherrif Nassir over poor accessibility for persons with disabilities, faulting his administration for failing to upgrade public buildings despite repeated petitions and legal challenges.

The Senate Standing Committee on Labour and Social Welfare heard testimonies detailing how outdated infrastructure continues to lock out vulnerable groups from essential services.

The committee, chaired by West Pokot Senator Julius Murgor, sat in Mombasa where it engaged the governor, county officials, disability advocates and representatives from the National Council of Persons with Disabilities and the National Construction Authority. The session followed Tuesday’s hearing on a petition led by disability rights campaigner Zedekiah Adika, who urged senators to confront systemic failures in public infrastructure.

“Our prayers are to institute an inquiry and make recommendations to ensure public buildings in Mombasa are accessible,” Adika said.

He cited Bima Towers, the Betting Control Building, the deputy county commissioner’s office and the county assembly building as major barriers.

Referring to a recent case in which a litigant was awarded Sh800,000 in damages, Adika argued: “Instead of awarding individuals such amounts, we could redirect these funds to correct these fundamental infrastructure mistakes.”

Governor Abdulswamad defended his administration’s record, saying the Departments of Blue Economy and Lands had been relocated to new premises designed with accessibility in mind, and that County Executive offices had ramps and ground-floor facilities.

However, he said disputes with national government agencies had slowed progress, particularly over the Betting Control Building, which is still managed by the Ministry of Housing.

“We offered to repair the lifts at our own cost, but the ministry responded by asking us to pay rent,” the governor said.

“How do we start paying rent on a property that I, and the Constitution of Kenya, believe belongs to the county government of Mombasa?”

Committee Vice Chairperson, Senator Crystal Asige, dismissed the State Department of Public Works’ recommendations as inadequate.

“Access is not just about buildings. It’s about human lives,” she said.

Asige, who sponsored the Persons with Disabilities Act, 2025, urged the county to go beyond token improvements.

“We need to consider slip-resistant flooring, appropriate signage, audio and visual prompts,” she said.

“We must stop thinking of spaces as mere brick and cement, and start considering who will actually use these spaces.”

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Nominated Senator Miraj Abdullahi cautioned the county against using heritage protections as a reason to delay upgrades, citing the Technical University of Mombasa as a protected site that had successfully been made accessible.

Embu Senator Alexander Mundigi pressed the governor for details on the budget allocation for accessibility upgrades, questioning whether resources had truly been set aside. However, no specific figures were tabled before the committee.

The meeting also shifted to fiscal issues, with Governor Abdulswamad revealing that Mombasa County has been paying the salaries of casino monitoring officers, even though their reports are submitted to the Ministry of Interior.

“I calculated what the salaries amount to approximately Sh21 million annually,” he said, contrasting this with the Sh200 million gambling revenue that goes directly to the national government.

The governor argued that counties were being unfairly burdened with the social costs of gambling addiction.

“The revenue generated goes to KRA, but the human cost comes to us,” he told senators, calling for a radical review of revenue-sharing arrangements.

He further observed that gambling addiction has spread into rural areas, fuelled by online betting platforms, and suggested IP address tracking as a means of ensuring revenues are attributed to the counties where the activity takes place.

The committee resolved to summon the Cabinet Secretaries for Housing and Labour to help resolve intergovernmental disputes and address accessibility gaps in public buildings.