This archive report was first published on 27 August 2019.
Kenya's nationwide census, which began on August 24, 2019, has been extended in populous urban areas to ensure all households are counted before the deadline of August 31, 2019.
Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho announced the extension, citing concerns that many households were yet to be reached. The new working hours will be from 6am to 10pm in urban areas, while the rest of the country will end at 9pm.
Enumerators in Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Eldoret, Kisumu, Kakamega, Nyeri, Kiambu, Thika, Machakos, and Kisii will stop knocking on doors at 10pm, Dr. Kibicho said.
Dr. Kibicho was accompanied by his counterparts Saitoti Torome (Ministry of Planning), Jerome Ochieng (ICT), and Joe Okuda (Tourism) during the announcement.
As part of the efforts to speed up the process, the committee redeployed 10,000 enumerators who had been assigned special areas like prisons, street families, and hotels to back up their colleagues counting people at home.
Dr. Kibicho assured Kenyans that all households will be reached before the deadline, saying, “Those who have not been reached yet, we are coming and we have time. Before the 31st, all households will have been reached.”
The principal secretaries also regretted cases of insecurity and obstruction, with 35 such cases recorded across the country. Sixteen people are already in court for obstructing enumerators while the rest are being processed.
Dr. Kibicho warned that it is against the law for anyone to impede the work of enumerators, saying, “It’s against the law for anyone to impede their work. This borders on criminality.”
Prof. Torome appealed to enumerators who have not been paid the initial Sh2,100 stipend to be patient, saying they were in the process of sending them the money.
MPs, in a campaign to have their constituents enumerated in their rural homes, led by example. The leaders want to avoid having the boundaries of their constituencies reviewed.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i had cautioned politicians against instructing urban dwellers to travel to their rural homes for the census.
Former President Mwai Kibaki was the first to be counted at his retirement home in Mweiga, Kieni Constituency, while ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru was counted at his Chaka home in Kieni East.
