Supreme Court Judge Isaac Lenaola, chair of the Integrated Court Management Systems and Communication Committee, urged the justice sector to treat accessibility as an institutional duty as government services move toward digital and AI platforms.

Lenaola recommended that each justice‑sector body appoint an accessibility champion or focal person to steer inclusive design and implementation of digital tools.

He cautioned against relying solely on the National Council for Persons with Disabilities, emphasizing that agencies themselves must embed inclusive practices.

Current progress and gaps in digital accessibility

Lenaola noted that Kenya has already drafted digital and ICT accessibility policies, adopted an accessibility maturity model, and begun work on AI governance, laying groundwork for inclusive services.

Justice Kibaya Laibuta, speaking from personal experience, warned that assistive technology alone cannot guarantee access if underlying systems remain inaccessible, citing issues such as screen‑reader‑incompatible icons and scanned documents.

He urged direct involvement of persons with disabilities in service design and called for mandatory accessibility criteria in procurement, ICT development and digital innovation.

Steps forward for inclusive justice services

The multi‑stakeholder forum, attended by judges including Daniel Musinga, Jacob Gakeri, Byram Ongaya and William Musyoka, advocated for “compliance by design” and stronger collaboration across institutions to embed disability inclusion in AI and ICT systems.

Participants agreed to pursue systemic reforms that shift from ad‑hoc digital inclusion efforts to formal institutional mechanisms, aiming to prevent the digitisation of exclusion.