This report presents the Focus Group Discussion (FGD) findings and recommendations that accompany the doctrinal analysis of Kenya’s legal and policy framework for AI accessibility for persons with disabilities. Bringing together Organisations of Persons with Disabilities, accessibility advocates, assistive technology developers and policymakers, the FGD grounds the doctrinal gaps identified in the companion report in lived experience, surfacing barriers a legal analysis alone could not capture, from basic access to devices and connectivity, to exclusion from AI design processes, to a documented trust deficit in how disability data is collected and used.
Participants illustrated these gaps, including a ride-hailing application that relies on phone calls to connect drivers and passengers, excluding deaf users with no clear avenue for redress. Across every discussion, arrived at the same conclusion, that Kenya’s central challenge is not an absence of legal commitment, but a gap in specificity, implementation and enforcement. The report responds with targeted recommendations, including mandatory pre-deployment accessibility assessments, transparency and reporting obligations, an operationalised complaints mechanism, and genuinely OPD-led nomination processes in AI governance structures.
With Kenya’s AI and Emerging Technologies Policy, Data Governance Policy, and potential AI legislation all still in development, this report identifies a critical window to embed these recommendations before the frameworks are finalised.