The government is set to conduct Kenya’s sixth national census from August 24, 2019, and will continue until August 31, 2019.
According to the Statistics Act of 2006, any person who skips the census risks a one-year jail term or a fine of Ksh 100,000 or both.
All persons who will be within the borders of Kenya on the census night (August 24/25) will be counted.
This includes persons found in their households, those in transit, individuals in hotels and lodges, and institutions such as hospitals and prisons, among others.
The Act further states that persons who willingly fail to give any information or particulars as required shall be deemed to have committed an offence.
This year’s census is the first since the promulgation of the 2010 constitution and the first one to be carried out using digital gadgets- a paperless process that seeks to ensure accuracy, speed of processing and security of the data.
The census will focus on eight key areas including population characteristics, disability, education, labour force, ICT, livestock, agriculture, housing conditions and amenities as well as household assets.
People will be counted with reference to where they spent the night of August 24/25, 2019, which is called Census Reference Night.
If one misses the headcount on the reference night, they will still be counted, but with reference to where they were on the night of August 24/25.
In case by August 31 you are still not counted, a toll-free number will be provided to contact KNBS to send an enumerator to cover your household.
On Friday, the government swiftly made a U-turn and stated that President Uhuru Kenyatta had not announced August 26, 2019, as a public holiday.
Earlier communication from PSCU was that August 26 had been designated as a public holiday to allow maximum enumeration of Kenyans during the national population census that begins on August 24.
