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Monday,October 10 ,2011
Press Statement by the Kenya Society for the Mentally Handicapped (KSMH)
KSMH Headquarters, Waiyaki Way, Westlands, Nairobi Kenya www.ksmh.org
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On this world mental health day – 10th October 2011, we are celebrating the recognition Under the New Constitution of People with Disabilities to include those with Mental Illnesses. The same recognition is provided for under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities that Kenya has ratified.
The Constitution Section 260 defines 'disability' to include any physical, sensory, mental, psychological or other impairment, condition or illness that has, or is perceived by significant sectors of the community to have, a substantial or long-term effect on an individual's ability to carry out ordinary day-to-day activities. As an Expert on the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the CEO of Kenya Society for the Mentally Handicapped, I join members of KSMH in correcting the wrong perception, expressed by the Director of Mental Health on national television - that people with mental illnesses are not people with disabilities. His words amounts to declaring that the Mental Health Division of Government is not prepared to implement the New Constitution and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This amounts to a violation of the New Constitution. The wrong perception as expressed by the Director of Mental Health should be corrected immediately, and appropriate measures taken to ensure the rights of people with mental disabilities are protected, respected and adhered to.
On this day, we are asking the Ministry of Health to take the lead in ensuring sections of the Mental Health Act that are in violation of the New Constitution are repealed. These are the sections of the Mental Health Act that form the basis of human rights violations of people with psychosocial and mental disabilities currently incarcerated in Mathari Psychiatric Hospital. The New Constitution and the UNCRPD provides that persons with mental disabilities must not be deprived of their liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily, and that any deprivation of liberty must be in conformity with the law, and that the existence of a disability shall in no case justify a deprivation of liberty. The situation in Mathari Psychiatric Hospital, fails to comply with the UNCRPD and the New Constitution for arbitrarily confining people and failing to provide them with appropriate therapeutic supports, consensual rehabilitation and habilitation services.
KSMH would like to point out that using compulsory treatment and forced drugging that turn people into zombies; without their informed decisions and consent is a violation of the Constitution and the UNCRPD. At the same time, failure to advice on better forms of psychiatric interventions that does not involve high doses of drugs, which totally immobilize people and subject them to confinements, inhumane and degrading treatment is in itself a violation of human rights. It is unimaginable to have more than 70 people in need of psychiatric interventions; all of them confined in a small space under the support of one single psychiatrist and one single nurse. This is the very unfortunate reality in Mathari Psychiatric Hospital.
It is important to note that there are much better psychotic drugs with fewer side effects. Such psychotic drugs do not turn people into zombies. The people using such drugs remain productive with less emotional and behavioural difficulties. Flooding the country with cheap and non effective psychotic drugs is subjecting people with mental and psychosocial disabilities to greater pain in the name of psychiatric interventions. The standard of services in the psychiatric centres is at the lowest it can get and urgent actions are needed to prevent outright violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms. This practice of impunity in continuous violations of people's rights is made worse by the government not engaging the services of other important specialists; among them behavioural modification therapists, psychotherapists and psychologists. Engaging adequate professionals in a multidisciplinary team, ensures that people do not deteriorate to profound mental crises that is more demanding to manage.
The failure by the government to give sufficient attention to interventions required by people with intellectual, mental and psychosocial disabilities; is subjecting them to neglect, pain, and profound suffering, which amounts to inhumane and degrading treatment.
It is sad to note that in this 21st century the government has not put in place any mechanisms for provision of important services that ensure timely & voluntary identification of children and adults with intellectual, mental and psychosocial disabilities. This has resulted to absolute lack of accurate statistics on children and adults with intellectual, mental and psychosocial disabilities and is the basis for inability to plan for appropriate interventions, supports and services. Lack of these essential disability services is the reason we find people chained at their homes, hidden and subjected to totally inhumane lifestyles.
The Kenya Society for the Mentally Handicapped is on this World Mental Health Day - 2011, asking the government to implement the New Constitution and end violations of human rights of 9% of Kenyans, who are with intellectual, mental and psychosocial disabilities. The statistics of 9% of Kenyan population are according to the year 2010 WHO report on disability.
Thank You!
Edah Maina
Chief Executive Officer - Kenya Society for the Mentally Handicapped
Vice President - UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Mobile Number: 0722793868
Email Address:
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