800 enumerators defy taking oaths in Naivasha

The planned census exercise in Naivasha was thrown into disarray after over 800  as per the law on the two days to the national event.

In Narok Senator Samuel Ole Tunai has called on security officers to tame all criminals seeking to take advantage of the night counting.

With Kenya National Bureau of Statistics making a last-minute rush to persuade Kenyans to participate in the national census slated for this weekend, confusion and drama have already unfolded in Naivasha area.

This is as Judicial officers who had arrived at Milimani High School In Naivasha, to carry out the oath-taking exercise for enumerators were forced to leave as senior government officers moved in to engage and calm the agitated youths.

The enumerators demanded that the State first pays their allowances for the seven days they have been in training before they could take the secrecy oath. According to one of the youths, they had been promised Sh300 per day but this had not reflected in their accounts.

The enumerator said that they feared that they could miss out on the payment adding that the government had promised to settle it before the census was conducted.

In Narok Governor Samuel Ole Tunai has called on NAROK COUNTY commissioner and his deputy commissioner to stay vigilant during the census period in taming criminals who will take advantage of the exercise to commit crimes during the night.

Speaking in Motonyi in Trans Mara, Tunai said the census will help in determining funds allocation to various counties and called upon every resident to return back to their county to ensure the actual population of the county is captured.

Kenyans had expressed fears that thugs could take advantage of the exercise to gain access to homes, and wondered how they will uniquely identify the enumerators.

Interior CS Fred Matiangi has allayed insecurity fears, saying the uniformed forces are on high alert to protect all citizens and that census personnel will be identifiable through branded attires.