You risk Sh2 million fine if found exploiting persons with disabilities- Bill
The Bill also includes provisions for public transport. It mandates that owners of public service vehicles must make adjustments to their cars to accommodate persons with disabilities.
It will now cost you up to Sh2 million or a jail term of two years if you cause, procure, or encourage a person with disabilities, whether child or adult, to engage in begging, according to the newly passed Persons with Disabilities Bill, Senate Bill No. 7 of 2023.
The Bill which aims to align Kenya's laws with Article 54 of the Constitution and enhance the rights and opportunities for persons living with disabilities was passed during a special session of the National Assembly last Thursday.
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It includes amendments to strengthen penalties for those who exploit persons with disabilities.
"A person who causes, procures, encourages or solicits a child or an adult with disabilities to engage in begging or receiving alms commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding Sh2 million or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to both," reads the new clause in the Bill.
In addition to this, the Bill introduces a more severe penalty for those who commit or abet degrading treatment of persons with disabilities through words, whether spoken, written, or in signs.
Initially, the Bill proposed a fine of Sh200,000 or imprisonment for up to one year for anyone who knowingly participates in such degrading treatment. However, MPs have now increased the fine to Sh1 million.
"That, clause 66 of the Bill be amended by deleting the words 'two hundred thousand shillings' and substituting, therefore, the words 'one million shillings,'" the amendment states.
The Bill also imposes a Sh2 million fine or a one-year prison sentence on medical practitioners who neglect persons with disabilities.
It prohibits healthcare professionals from discriminating against persons with disabilities regarding informed consent and confidentiality when providing medical services. Additionally, the Bill makes it an offence for anyone to conduct a medical procedure on a person with a disability that leads to infertility, carrying a fine of up to Sh3 million or one year in prison.
Caregivers who enable such medical procedures or fail to prevent them can face a fine of up to Sh500,000 or imprisonment for up to one year.
The Bill also includes provisions for public transport. It mandates that owners of public service vehicles must make adjustments to their cars to accommodate persons with disabilities.
"A registered owner of a public transport vehicle who improves or modifies it to make it accessible to persons with disabilities shall be entitled to apply to the Cabinet Secretary responsible for finance for twenty-five per cent of the direct cost of improvement or modifications," reads the Bill.
Further, the Bill gives persons with disabilities the right to seek damages if they are denied admission to any premises open to the public or if services or amenities are withheld.
"Without prejudice to subsection (3), damages awarded under that subsection shall be recoverable summarily as a civil debt," section 74(4) of the Bill reads.
The Bill is now awaiting President William Ruto's signature to become law, further enhancing protections for persons with disabilities in Kenya.
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