Census: Agency backs numbers amid protests

From left; Tharaka MP Gitonga Murugara, Governor Muthomi Njuki, MPs Kareke Mbiuki and Patrick Munene at a press conference in Nairobi yesterday. PHOTO | LUCY WANJIRU | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Kenya National Bureau of Statistics Director-General Zachary Mwangi told the Nation that the agency welcomes any complaints.
  • Legal experts said individuals and counties that dispute the results have an option of going to court.

The outcry over the 2019 census results continued for the second day Tuesday, with aggrieved residents and leaders vowing to challenge the results in court.

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics Director-General Zachary Mwangi told the Nation that the agency welcomes any complaints.

“If we receive a complaint we will be ready to take the complainants through the process on how we collected the data so as to explain why the figures are as they read,” Mr Mwangi said while defending the results.

He said the data is comprehensive because the information was collected by locals countrywide, including in areas that have criticised the findings.

CRITICISM

Despite facing criticism from some leaders, the census team also received praise for delivering the initial report within three months — the shortest period for such an exercise in Africa, according to State House.

So far, the criticism has ranged from stunted growth in some counties to disputes over the number of men and women in some sub-counties.

“Half the men in NEP (northeastern province) are married to more than one wife but the census result show we have more men than women in each of the counties,” wondered Mohamed Wehliye, a native of the region and a financial adviser.

In a press conference, Tharaka-Nithi leaders, led by Governor Muthoni Njuki, vowed to challenge data in court.

Legal experts said individuals and counties that dispute the results have an option of going to court.

However, their success is not guaranteed if the Court of Appeal ruling over the disputed 2009 census results is anything to go by.

PROJECTED FIGURES

The then minister for planning Wycliffe Oparanya cancelled the results of eight districts, citing irregularities.

Mr Oparanya said the irregularities included understatement and overstatement of population.

He also said that the census figures were way above the projected figures based on the 1999 results.

The ministry went on to adjust the population results downwards, in a process known as “smoothing of figures”. The affected counties filed a case in court, which prohibited the circulation of the 2009 census results affecting the aggrieved districts.

In arriving at the ruling, the court noted that a reading of section 23 of the Statistics Act did not show or demonstrate that the government had power to make any changes to census figures, adding that the section only gave power to the “Director-General to grant, permit, restrict and prohibit request for information under his custody”.

APPEALED DECISISON

Not satisfied with the ruling, the government appealed the decision.

Interestingly, in its appeal at the High Court, the government did not challenge the decision of the court that it had no power to cancel the results.

Notwithstanding such a huge concession, the government went ahead to challenge the orders of prohibition.

The Court of Appeal asked itself many questions, among them, what are “projected results” and what is their purpose and impact on census figures?

How are the orders of prohibition related to the decision of the government that was quashed?

The Court of Appeal agreed with the High Court on issuing an order of prohibition barring the government from using data other than the published 2009 census results in determining boundary reviews and new boundaries.