This archive report was first published on 23 August 2019.
Published on August 23, 2019, a census official in Nyamira County has been fired for mortgaging census equipment to buy beer. The official, an ICT expert, had been issued with a census tablet and a power bank for the upcoming census.
According to Nyamira County Commissioner Amos Mariba, the officer had missed a pre-census planning meeting and was subsequently arrested after a frantic search by police from Sengera police station.
Mariba confirmed that the officer had offered the census gadgets as collateral to obtain a loan for beer, saying, "The ICT census supervisor was issued with a census tablet and a power bank and consequently went missing since Wednesday."
Meanwhile, Homa Bay County Commissioner Harman Shambi has banned night prayers during the census period, directing security officials to ensure that nobody goes to church on Saturday and Sunday evening.