Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in Bomet County are calling on the government to actively seek them out with services, rather than requiring them to chase after assistance.

The PWDs made their plea during the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, at Longisa in Bomet East.

According to the 2019 census, Bomet County had a total of 9,117 PWDs, a population that claims it has been consistently marginalised and operating in poverty due to a lack of government support.

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Augustin Langat, the President of PWDs Bomet County, voiced their frustration, stressing that the government should change its approach to service delivery for their community in order for them to enjoy their normal lives.

“The government should come out and look for these large numbers of PWDs. We have been facing so much hardship, and the government should come looking for us,” Langat stated.

He added, “They should know where more than 9,000 persons with disabilities are and assist them to have better lives.”

One major challenge highlighted is the difficulty in accessing essential services, particularly healthcare.

Peter Kitur noted that many PWDs struggle to pay for the required amount for the Social Health Authority (SHA), with some reporting payments of up to Ksh600 just to access services with no income.

“This condition makes it hard for us to pay the required amount, and we are denied the assistance we desperately need from the health facilities we attend,” Kitur said.

Langat further stated that they were not involved in Bomet county during the public participation of signing the Persons with Disabilities Act 2025, which the president signed on Thursday, May 8, 2025

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The new Act is intended to provide a comprehensive legal framework for promoting and protecting disability rights, aligning with the Constitution of Kenya and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

However, Bomet PWDs claim they were completely excluded from the public participation process.

“The President recently signed the Persons with Disabilities Act 2025, and yet we here in Bomet were not involved in the public participation for this bill. We don’t even know what the Act entails, and that is one of the key challenges we are facing here,” Langat lamented.

In response, Benard Tanui, the Bomet County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Gender and Social Services, acknowledged the grievances and assured the PWD community that the county government is actively collaborating with the national government to address these issues.

He confirmed that some members have already benefited from county services, including the distribution of wheelchairs, and asked for patience as the administration attempts to reach the entire population.

“We are working closely with the national government to ensure that everyone is assisted. Already, some of our people have benefited from the services offered by the county government,” Tonui said.