The 2019 National Census is set for 24th August 2019 just a day from now. This will be the eighth census to be conducted in Kenya since the first one conducted in 1948, and will be first of its kind to be carried out using digital gadgets, a paperless process that seeks to ensure accuracy, speed of processing and security of the data, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
KNBS has addressed issues on household members who might be absent on the reference night due to work, some traveling on the night of the census or those who are out of the country and provided indicators that a household has been counted to avoid confusion.
As for those who will not be in their homes on that night on activities that are not work-related, Enumerators will try to visit your home again to ensure you are counted as the entire process is set to take seven days starting on 24th and ending on 31st.
While the government has ordered the closure of all bars on the night of the census, hotels and lodges will remain open. However, the enumerators have been barred from conducting door to door census in the hotel rooms but with the help of the management, they should be able to gather information about the number of guests in the hotels through their records.
“If you are staying in paid accommodation such as a hotel, you should not expect anyone to go to your hotel room.
Do not open the door if they are claiming to be for the Census. The hotel management will answer the questions on behalf of its occupants,” read a notice to the public.
The public has been told to familiarize themselves with KNBS logo and Census logo which should be used on identification cards and the reflector jacket. That any individual claiming to be an enumerator and cannot produce an identification document, or is not wearing a reflector jacket or does not have a tablet computer should be immediately suspicious and not allowed property.
