NAIROBI, 2 October 2026: The Government has assured older persons that the Older Persons Bill, 2024 will be enacted before 2027, as Kenya’s first national International Day of Older Persons (IDOP) Conference closed today with a clear verdict: ageing is not a peripheral issue but a national development issue.
The assurance came from Joseph Motari, CBS, MBS, Principal Secretary, State Department for Social Protection and Senior Citizen Affairs, as he closed the three-day conference at the Kenya Institute of Special Education (KISE), Nairobi, where he also launched the Sensitization Booklet on Older Persons and Ageing.
Developed with state and non-state actors, including older persons’ organisations, the booklet is designed to raise public awareness of ageing and the rights of older persons, and to equip stakeholders to meet their obligations towards them.
The commitments come at a pivotal moment. An estimated 3.6 million Kenyans are aged 60 and above, a number projected to triple to around 12 million by 2050, and delegates were candid that the country’s systems have not yet kept pace.
Delivering the closing remarks of Hon. Dr Alfred Mutua, EGH, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, the Principal Secretary said:
0“Ageing is not a peripheral issue. It is a national development issue. Every generation has a stake in how we prepare for longer lives. Every family, every community and every institution will experience ageing.”
The Principal Secretary said the Government is also working to widen cash transfer coverage for older persons, and called for older persons to be included in the decisions that affect them. He issued a firm warning to communities that continue to exploit and abuse older persons, insisting that they be accorded the respect they are due.
Beyond charity: Why Kenya needs an older persons Act before 2027
Across three days of plenaries, breakout sessions and testimony from older persons themselves, a consistent picture emerged. Speakers agreed that no single sector can deliver healthy ageing alone, and that health, social protection, community systems and financing must work together. Older persons were repositioned not as recipients of services but as rights-holders, contributors, caregivers and mentors who must help shape the policies that affect them.
OkThe conference was equally honest about the gaps. Affordable health insurance, pension adequacy and income security after retirement remain out of reach for many older persons, opportunities to stay engaged through volunteering, mentoring and community service are limited, and efforts across government, civil society and communities remain fragmented.
On the final day, older persons also accessed free medical, legal and wellness services at the Intergenerational Village.
The conference’s recommendations will be carried forward through the IDOP 2026 Conference Communiqué. Closing the conference, the Cabinet Secretary issued a challenge:
“Let us build a Kenya in which ageing is not feared, older age is not diminished, and every person can look forward to later life with health, security, dignity, purpose and opportunity.”
As Kenya’s population ages, the message from the conference is clear: longer lives must be met with stronger systems, and the time to act is now.
