This archive report was first published on 6 November 2019.
On November 6, 2019, the 2019 Population and Housing Census report was released, shedding light on the Mau Forest's population. However, the numbers were astonishingly low, with only 32 people recorded.
According to the report, the 752.9 square kilometres of land in Mau Narok were home to 28 men and four women. In contrast, the section of the Mau Forest covering Kericho and Bomet counties, spanning 736 square kilometres, was found to be uninhabited.
Other forests in the region also reported meagre populations, ranging from 100 to 500 people. This raised concerns about whether the ordinary forest settlers were enumerated at all.
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics Director-General Zachary Mwangi clarified that the team only counted the people they found on the reference nights of August 24 and 25. "Our numbers are of the people we found on the said night. A census is where you find the people and count them where they are," he said.
It is worth noting that the forests are not categorized as settlement areas, but rather as habitats for government staff, such as Kenya Forest Service (KFS) workers or their Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) counterparts.
