Residents of Kiambu County who were yet to be enumerated have been assured that they would be reached before the close of the exercise.
The Kiambu County Commissioner (CC), Wilson Wanyanga while addressing a press conference in his office on Tuesday said the KNBS personnel had made tremendous effort to enumerate as many people in respective households as possible.
Wanyanga said the exercise in Kiambu County was progressing well and that by the end of the exercise, about 3 million people will have been enumerated.
The CC however, called on the residents to engage their village elders and assistant chiefs as they were in a position to link them up with the enumeration team in their localities.
“If you are yet to be enumerated, inform your village elders, chiefs or even call me and we shall be able to dispatch enumeration teams to come to your homes,” he said.
He said nobody should keep quiet and complain later that they did not see enumeration officers in their homes.
“This is an important exercise which the government will use for the next 10 years and it therefore prudent that those involved in the exercise capture data which is as accurate as possible,” said the CC.
He also reminded residents on the importance of observing the rule of law and order. “Nobody will be allowed to disrupt the exercise, and if anyone attempts, they will face the full force of the law,” he said.
He cited an incident in Juja where a landlord attempted to bar enumerators from their work in her property on the pretext that she had a health problem. “The lady has already been arrested and arraigned in court, so others will follow suit until the exercise is called off on August 31,” he warned.
He appealed to Kenyans not to go looking for trouble by interrupting National programmes, saying data is required for planning purposes and when constitutional requirements calls for it, then there is no looking back.
“Ikiwa hujahesabiwa, jitokeze, na usinyamaze,” Wanyanga reiterated while clarifying that enumerators in Kiambu and Thika towns were expected to complete their work at 10.00pm
The administrator who was flanked by the Kiambu CCIO, Nicholas Etyang and the County Police Commander, Ali Nuno assured residents that the area had been covered adequately and that so far, there had been no ugly incidents.
He further clarified that a slight blackout had been experienced in Kabete on the first day of the exercise which had slightly affected the exercise as some machines went off. “However, the problem was sorted out within the shortest time and work resumed,” he said.
The census exercise begun on August 24 and is expected to be completed on August 31 when all citizens are expected to have been captured by KNBS personnel.
By Lydia Shiloya
