Kenya National Bureau of Statistics Director-General Macdonald Obudho.
Senators have waded into the controversies surrounding the 2019 Kenya Population and Housing census just falling short of calling for a fresh population census, alleging data manipulation by the former regime.
The development comes after the lawmakers put the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Director-General Macdonald Obudho over the disputes arising from the last census.
Appearing before the Senate Finance and Budget Committee on Tuesday, the KNBS boss had a rough time defending the results of the 2019 population census against furious senators.
The fury by the senators follows a court ruling that cancelled census results for 15 constituencies in Mandera, Wajir, and Garissa Counties.
The constituencies include Mandera North, Mandera West, Banisa, Lafey, Mandera East and Mandera South; Eldas, Tarbaj, Wajir West, Wajir East and Wajir North and Balambala, Lagdera, Dadaab and Garissa Township following a petition challenging the results.
The court directed KNBS to conduct a fresh mini-population census within a period of a year from the date of the delivery of the judgment.
Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale said there are many areas in the country aggrieved by the results apart from the petitioners who went to court.
The senator said they suspect there was an element of manipulation of the data, calling the results “suspect”.
The Senate Majority Whip cited the case of Ikolomani’s population, which dropped by 67,000 despite there being no epidemic, mass exodus, or war experienced in the area in the 10 years prior to the exercise.
From left: National Treasury CS Prof Njuguna Ndung'u, Health CS Susan Nakhumicha and Kenya National Bureau of Statistics Director General Macdonald Obudho during the launch of the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey report at KICC, Nairobi on July 3, 2023.
He also gave an example of schools in Githunguri Constituency, Kiambu County closing for lack of children, yet the census said how the area’s population grew tremendously.
Further, he claimed that in Kakamega County, MPs always spend half of CDF to construct more classrooms because of a ballooning population yet that county did not record even 200,000 population growth.
“This is pure manipulation. I really feel worried about the data from KNBS. They are very suspicious. In this census, many other aggrieved areas exist, and not only the ones that went to court. We suspect there was an element of possibility of manipulation,” said Senator Khalwale.
“Do you think we should move Parliament so that the census is done afresh to come up with reliable and verifiable data acceptable across the country bearing in mind the court ruling?” he posed.
Mandera Senator Ali Roba, who also doubles up as the committee’s chairperson, dropped a bombshell alleging that former President Uhuru Kenyatta might have had a hand in the alleged manipulation of the 2019 census data.
He claimed that the State House was at the time opposed to resources going to arid and semi-arid areas and suppression of the data was allegedly part of the plan.
“Can you explain how the census result will give a negative growth in population yet there is positive growth in other aspects, including fertility rates?” asked the former Mandera Governor.
“How free is KNBS from political interference to get certain favourable data resulting in manipulation of the data?
At least President William Ruto is not engaged in the manipulation of data, but the former government was, and I say this with a lot of certainty,” he added.
The report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that nationally, about 30 per cent of citizens are unable to meet their food needs, with more rural than urban dwellers living in hunger.
Steering clear on whether the 2019 exercise was above board, Mr Obudho said that even though he was not the agency’s boss during the contentious census, he explained that the exercise is always detailed, arguing that Kenya’s census is the most elaborate and consistent in the region.
He, however, revealed that the census was conducted when Northern Kenya was experiencing severe drought and insecurity which interfered with the mapping process, a precursor to the real census on the nights of August 24 and 25.
“Kenya conducts a type of census known as de facto census which is the best around here and I can tell you so because I have been at KNBS for over 29 years,” he said.
On the anomalies raised by Senator Khalwale, the KNBS boss said that Kiambu's high population numbers can be attributed to the expansion of Nairobi and its attendant population boom.
Nominated Senator Tabitha Mutinda pressed Mr Obudho to tell the committee when they are likely to hold the mini-census ordered by the court.
“You were given a year to conduct a fresh census in the aggrieved counties. When is this likely to take place and what are the timelines?” she posed.
The KNBS DG said the agency filed an application for a stay of execution of the judgement but is nevertheless looking at January next year as the latest date for the fresh census should the appeal fail.
Mr Obudho added that they are grappling with a lack of funds for the exercise and finding a month that will present conditions similar to those during the disputed census in August 2019.
He told the committee that the agency only has 494 staff spread across the entire country and sometimes has to depend on donors to carry out its activities.
“We are not well-resourced in terms of personnel and resources. We are currently putting together the needed budget and then making a request to the National Treasury,” said the DG.
“You cannot just go and count people without mapping them. We are even grappling with staff shortage,” he added.
He pointed out that they have been depending on the World Bank, but the money is no longer there after the bank diverted the aid to Burundi.
“We are not even sure of completing other surveys planned, like rebasing the economy, a process which requires data from us. Now that the money from WB is going to Burundi, we have been left to rely on Statistics Sweden and its UK equivalent. This is how desperate we are.”
