People living with disabilities have appealed to political parties to strictly adhere to the rules guiding the choosing of Nominated Members of Parliament and County Assemblies in the coming elections.

Members of the group drawn from Kiambu and Murang’a counties said that in the past, nomination slots for people with disabilities were given to undeserving people, some who did not have disabilities.

“It is regrettable that many of our members who had qualified for the nominations after being interviewed by the relevant panels lost the nominations to people with no disability.

We are appealing to the party organs to ensure there is fairness in the exercise and only those who qualify get the seats,” Peter Mwasi said yesterday at a meeting in Juja, Kiambu county.

Mwasi, who is visually impaired, pointed out that only representatives with disabilities can effectively articulate their issues in Parliament or in County Assemblies.

“We want to be represented by people who understand our predicaments and can for example push for a waiver of taxes on assistive devices like wheelchairs and braille or have them issued free of charge,” he said.

He said the cost of the devices was beyond the reach of many of their members

Jacinta Kamau, who hawks clothes in Thika town, said the next Parliament should enact laws that exempt people with disabilities from paying taxes and enable them to access free education up to university level.

Kamau, who lives with a physical disability, said this would ensure that people with impairments stand a better chance of being self-reliant.