A Senate committee has heard harrowing testimony from disability advocates in Mombasa, who described systemic barriers shutting people with disabilities out of government services despite constitutional guarantees of equal access.

“When I came here [Mombasa County Assembly building], I wanted to go to the gallery, but it was very difficult. People had to carry me up, and when people carry you, they don’t carry you in a proper way. Sometimes you may get hurt,” said Charity Chahasi, a disability rights campaigner, in an emotional account that set the tone for the hearing.

The Senate Committee on Labour and Social Welfare, chaired by Sen Julius Murgor, (West Pokot), convened in Mombasa to consider a petition led by civil society activist Zedekiah Adika. The session brought together members of the Mombasa County Assembly labour committee, officials from the Ministry of Labour represented by the acting chief executive of the National Council for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) and engineers from the National Construction Authority (NCA).

The petitioners pointed to stark examples of exclusion, including Bima Towers, a high-rise building where people with disabilities seeking government services must often be carried up the stairs because lifts are broken and ramps are absent.

Sen Miraj Abdullahi reminded officials that Article 54 of Kenya’s constitution enshrines the right to dignity and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. But enforcement has been painfully slow. The NCA acknowledged that most of the buildings under scrutiny predate the authority’s establishment, while the NCPWD said the Disability Act, 2003 had not given it sufficient regulatory teeth to compel compliance.

That explanation was sharply rejected by Sen (Rtd) Justice Stewart Madzayo (Kilifi), who accused the council of neglecting its mandate. NCPWD’s acting chief executive, Eva Njoroge, countered that the updated Persons with Disabilities Act, 2025, had strengthened the agency’s powers and pledged that regulations and guidelines would be in place before the end of the current financial year.

Beyond regulatory gaps, officials pointed to building ownership disputes and UNESCO heritage restrictions as obstacles. Advocates dismissed these as excuses. “We cannot be told that the county assembly is a UNESCO-protected building, and therefore no reform can be made,” one said.

The county assembly itself has become emblematic of the problem, with its chambers still inaccessible. 

Senators were told lives had already been lost due to malfunctioning lifts and unsafe conditions. “People have even died in some of these buildings,” one speaker said.

After the hearing, committee members toured several government buildings, including Bima Towers and the Betting Control and Licensing Board premises. As the inquiry continues, the Committee shall meet with the Governor of Mombasa County, Wednesday.

Sen Mohamed Faki (Mombasa) said the petition went beyond infrastructure. “It is about dignity, equality and the right to participate fully in public life,” he said. Sen Miraj added that government services must be accessible to all: “If the mountain cannot go to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain.”