This archive report was first published on 22 August 2019.
Kenya is set to conduct its first-ever paperless census since independence, with the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) using locally assembled mobile electronic devices for data entry.
According to KNBS Director-General Zachary Mwangi, all persons present within the borders of Kenya will be counted, including outdoor sleepers, persons on transit, individuals in hotels and lodges, and those in institutions such as hospitals and prisons.
However, Kenyans in the diaspora will not be enumerated, but their family members in Kenya will be asked to provide details of their kin who migrated since 2004.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i has ordered the closure of all bars and nightclubs countrywide to pave way for the census, with the joints shutting down at 5 pm on Saturday and Sunday to ensure everyone is at home when enumerators arrive at 6 pm.
Speaking in Embu on Wednesday, CS Matiang'i assured Kenyans that the government had put up measures to ensure criminals do not take advantage of the exercise, with all security officers recalled from leave to ensure the census is conducted effectively.
The census will focus on eight main areas, including population characteristics, disability, education, labor force, ICT, livestock, agriculture, housing conditions, and amenities as well as household assets.
