Matiang’i orders closure of bars during census

Interior CS Fred Matiang’i has ordered the closure of bars and other social places starting Saturday, August 24, 2019, from 5pm to ensure the planned national census takes place smoothly.

Speaking during the official opening of the 10th edition of the Water Services Companies Games in Embu County, the CS further stated that officials carrying out the exercise are familiar faces to the locals.

“We are going to close all our social places especially the bars at 5pm to give you an hour to be home before the enumerators arrive at 6pm so that they can find you at home.

“No one will come from outside their sub-location, which means they know people around there, they are known and they know their way around,” he said.

The census is set to officially start on the night of August 24, 2019 and will continue up to August 31, 2019.

According to the Kenya Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), there are 138,572 enumerators, 22,268 content supervisors and 2,467 ICT supervisors for the survey.

All persons who will be within the borders of Kenya on the census night will be counted.

This will include persons found in the households, outdoor sleepers, persons on transit, individuals in hotels and lodges, and institutions such as hospitals, prisons and army barracks among others.

After enumeration, the officials will write a number on the door or at any visible place on the structure to indicate that counting has been conducted in the household.

Also, Kenyans in the diaspora will not be counted. However, household members will be asked some questions about members of their households who migrated to other countries in the last 15 years.