Safe guarding your data is the most crucial principle in any human's life. The sensitization meeting that was organised in conjunction with Self Empowered Youth and Adolescent (SEYA) Youth Organization at Mwembe Tayari on the 18th of November 2025 it was all about data protection awareness to the Person's with Disability (Pwd's) and their caregivers. In attendance was Feisal Okech the President for Person's with Disability in Mombasa in his role he also works as a human rights defender for Pwd's, other human rights defender were present, caregivers and Pwd's were in attendance as well.
As you have noticed, whenever you visit a public or private place by the gate, you either leave your identity card or credentials. The question is, how sure are you that the data you have provided is being safe guarded & where's your data being taken? The Data Protection Act 2019 is a Kenyan law that governs the processing of personal data, established to protect individuals' right to privacy under the Constitution of Kenya. Key provisions and principles include establishing the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) where's defining the rights of data subjects, and outlining the obligations of data controllers and processors. The Act also includes penalties for non-compliance, which can include significant fines and imprisonment that can lead to fines of up to Kes 3 million ($ 30,000) or a prison term of up to 10 years for general offenses or both.
The law applies to any organization, public or private institution that collects or processes personal data in Kenya, regardless of where the organization is based. Human rights defenders shared a sensitive data on how the communication becomes a barrier from the hearing impaired person's that their information is being interfered wrongly whenever they are seeking medical advice or attention. It is said that approximately 99.9% of health workers and practitioners in Mombasa don't have the knowledge or understanding of sign language, the grievances was the sign language should be initiated to the medical education centres as mandatory subject.
Secondly, before someone takes your data they should give you consent and consent doesn't mean literally photography & videography alone, it also applies on collecting data too. According to Feisal Okech, The Pwd's President for Mombasa emphasised that data protection is mandatory and you have the right to withdraw the consent. That's why SEYA Youth Organization came to the community through Pwd Associations and human rights defenders to advocate for some of the doctors and health workers to learn sign language in order to protect their patients data since there are few specialist doctors that know how to sign.
In Mombasa County there's no policy about disability Act that has been kept into place nor implemented, this comes after the Person's With Disability Act 2025 was polished, much has been done but alot should be done since most handouts are printed casually and the equipments and machinery that is supposed to produce braille and the current economic situation is alarming and how will the PWD'S access this information on data protection.
Did you know that there are exemptions even though policies have been implemented already and these is; Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI), matters national security,crime prevention or where it's required by the law & court of justice. In summary, everyone needs to create awareness to the community about bills & rights about data protection.
By Elijah Muthini
