Agency engages leaders from northern Kenya over disputed census results

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) has opened talks with northern Kenya leaders who have contested the population census figures the agency released on Monday.

Speaking to the Business Daily Thursday, KNBS Director-General Zachary Mwangi said the talks would seek to clarify how the contested numbers were arrived at.

The leaders, among them National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale, governors Mohamud Mohamed (Wajir) and Ali Korane (Garissa), as well as 18 legislators, have accused the KNBS of “manipulating the population figures in a bid to deny northern Kenya resources”.

“Talks are on. It’s a point of explanation about what we have done. When we engage, the leaders will appreciate the work we have done so far,” said Mr Mwangi.

“My assurance is about the credibility of the process. We followed the internationally agreed principle and recommendations for conducting a housing and population census.”

The population count released on Monday established that the number of Kenyans rose by 9.9 million to reach 47.6 million in 2019 compared to a revised figure of 37.7 million for 2009.

However, Mandera was the only county to register a decline, with its population shrinking by 155,643 to 867,457.