This archive report was first published on 24 August 2019.
West Pokot Census Equipment Stolen, Exercise in Limbo ¶
Residents of Sioyo area in West Pokot County are uncertain about their participation in the 2019 census after thieves stole equipment belonging to a census official.
According to a police report filed at Kapenguria Police Station, census content supervisor Adrian Kemei locked up the equipment at his workshop within Sioyo shopping centre on March 22, 2019. The stolen items included a tablet with the serial number 155354 and IMEI number 868758032217113, a power bank, and other essential gadgets for the digital exercise.
When Kemei went to pick up the items on Friday, August 23, he found the shop broken into and all the items stolen. Police visited the scene, but no recovery has been made so far, and investigations are ongoing.
Elsewhere, in Kakamega County, a census enumerator, Celsso Aginga, fell into a shallow stream while marking houses for the exercise. He got drunk and lost his gadgets, which got waterlogged. The enumerator was rescued by village elders and escorted to the post to prevent theft or loss of the crucial gadget.
The official is currently in police custody, and the gadget was safely kept in the armoury.
As earlier reported, another census official in Nyamira County mortgaged a tablet and power bank for beer.
