NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 26-Census exercise that kicked off two days ago will not be extended despite many Kenyans saying they are yet to be counted.
Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho on Monday said that the seven days set aside by the government are enough to have every one enumerated.
“The exercise will end on August 31, there will be no extension because we expect that all Kenyans will have been counted,” said the PS during a press conference.
And to ensure that everyone is counted, particularly in major cities such as Nairobi, Kisumu, Kiambu, Eldoret, Kakamega, Machakos, Mombasa, and Thika the exercise will be carried out daily from 6 am to 10 pm.
“For those Kenyans who have not been counted, we are coming and we have time, be sure that you will all be counted, we urge for patience because everyone matters to the government and must be counted,” said Kibicho.
According to the PS, by the end of the exercise, each enumerator will have visited at least 100 households.
The first two days are said to have been largely successful despite some unfortunate reports of enumerators being attacked and others obstructed from undertaking their duties.
Police spokesperson Charles Owino on Sunday confirmed that security had been beefed up in areas where incidences of insecurity have been reported since the census exercise kicked off on Saturday night.
He said police are currently pursuing suspects who gang-raped an enumerator in Maseno, Kisumu County during the first day of the exercise.
Those not cooperating with the enumerators have been warned that obstructing the exercise will be treated as a serious offense.
Already some chiefs, sub-chiefs and some Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) staff have been arrested for tampering with the exercise or the enumeration devices.
In Wajir, a chief was arrested on Monday for facilitating inflation of the census figures through double listing.
Owino on Monday said the chief was overseeing the registration of people twice, in a move aimed at exaggerating the final outcome.
The Khumbi location chief in Wajir South will be charged in court on Tuesday when the census exercise will be entering its fourth day.
“This is a serious offence,” Owino told Capital News, “The chief is in custody and will be charged.”
Authorities believe the move is part of a scheme by politicians to inflate population figures in their regions for political regions, particularly in areas that are sparsely populated.
