The National Council for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) attention has been drawn to a very sad and dehumanizing image and video footage in public circulation in various social media platforms, depicting police officers in uniforms in Nakuru county, manhandling a man with physical disability during the demonstrations on 25th June 2026.
In the Video clip, the said police officers are seen forcibly and violently snatching the crutches, and manhandling him with utter disregard for his physical condition, safety, and dignity. The Council condemns this conduct in the strongest and most unequivocal terms. What is depicted is not a lapse in judgment and in disregard d to the human dignity of the man, this is also a serious violation of the law. The Constitution of Kenya, 2010 guarantees every person equality and freedom from discrimination under Article 27, dignity under Article 28, and protection from torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment under Article 29.
Article 21 of the Constitution imposes a binding duty on the state to respect, protect, promote, and fulfil these rights that were gravely breached when uniformed officers deliberately threw down a person with a physical disability and forcibly seized his mobility aid, leaving him immobile, vulnerable, and stripped of dignity before the public.
The Persons with Disabilities Act, No. 4 of 2025 further obliges all persons, especially public officers, to uphold the rights, safety, and dignity of persons with disabilities, expressly prohibiting abuse, exploitation, violence, and degrading treatment, which the officers’ conduct directly contravened.
In this regard, the National Council for Persons with Disabilities hereby demands:
- That the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) immediately institute investigations into the conduct of the officers depicted in the footage, identify all police officers involved, and take appropriate action.
- That the Inspector General of the National Police Service initiate internal disciplinary proceedings against the officers concerned with immediate effect.
The NCPWD wishes to clarify that mobility aid is not a mere object. For a person with a physical disability, it is an extension of their body and their only means of independent movement and dignity. Its forcible removal is an act of deliberate cruelty. Public officers who perpetrate such acts must face the full consequences of the law and the Council will pursue every available institutional and legal avenue to ensure that they do. The Council will not remain silent in the face of violence inflicted upon the very persons it exists to protect.
