The deaf cry foul after names struck off from nomination list

Members of the Association of People with Disability yesterday protested against the removal of the deaf from party nomination lists.

The members, led by their Laikipia County chairman Musa Nteere and his Kajiado County counterpart Charles Njogu, said the deaf were being discriminated against in the election representation process.

“We presented our names to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) for nomination, but they were removed from the list, said Mr Nteere.

“This is unfair as article 81c of the Constitution advocates for fair representation of persons with disabilities; and the deaf do not have any representation,” he added.

Equal representation

The members, who protested outside Standard Group offices, said there were over 800,000 deaf registered voters who needed to be represented by someone who understands them.

“There are very many people with disabilities, but the deaf need someone who knows and understands them well. We need to be represented by one of our own,” said Njogu.

Njogu added that out of the 95 per cent of the people with disabilities, the deaf were not represented anywhere in the Government. They said they wanted to be recognised as people with disabilities too. The union claimed their names were removed from nomination list because of communication barriers and added that they did not choose to be born deaf. They demanded equality and equal representation.

Meeting with IEBC

Nteere added that there were different types of disabilities and each one was well represented except for them. They called on the President and the Opposition leader to take charge of the matter and allow for fair nomination for the deaf people.

Njogu and Nteere are vying as MCAs on the Orange Democratic Party and Jubilee Party tickets respectively.  The two officials said they met with IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati and were asked to go back to their respective wards for recommendation letters.

“The chairman asked us to get recommendation letters from our respective wards,” said Nteere. [Mercy Odhiambo]