The census exercise in Trans Nzoia County started swiftly on Saturday evening with no insecurity incidences or hitches reported. Locals have adhered to the exercise and most business premises closed on time. Speaking to the press after day one of the exercise which culminated at Governor Patrick Khaemba’s home, the Trans Nzoia County commissioner Samson Ojwang together with the County police commander Ayub Ali Gitonga thanked all the residents as well as businessmen for adhering to the government’s call to go home early to ensure they are counted. “We are happy to report that there were no incidences of insecurity witnessed so far during the census,” said Ojwang.
He said the County is in the process of registering more than 1.2
million people calling upon the locals to give census officers maximum co-operation-with 2353 enumerators on ground-to ensure the exercise is successful.
His counterpart police commander Gitonga Ali said security officers
have been deployed in the whole County and other friendly forces like
Kenya prisons and Kenya wildlife services have also teamed up with
police in making sure locals are fully secure during the exercise. Enumerators will be sent to places like prisons, hospitals and street children will also be counted via special questionnaires. Travelers will receive special cards after being counted to avoid repeat counts.
The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) officer Isaac sang said he has put in place some mechanisms that will make sure all the special
people are covered during the exercise. He said KNBS has deployed 39 ICT supervisors, 361 content supervisors and 2353 enumerators in Trans Nzoia.
Leaders who led the County in the exercise by being counted included Devolution CS Eugene Wamalwa, Trans Nzoia Governor Patrick Khaemba and Trans Nzoia County assembly speaker Joshua Werunga. Governor Khaemba urged locals in the County to cooperate and give factual information to the officers, adding that the count will be vital in resource allocation by the government. However, he expressed concerns with how the exercise was being conducted, taking longer than expected.