Did men marry fellow men in Balambala? Duale pokes holes in Census data

By , K24 Digital
On Wed, 6 Nov, 2019 12:08 | 2 mins read
Majority Leader in the National Assembly Aden Duale has poked holes in the recently released Census data. [PHOTO | FILE]
Garissa Town MP Aden Duale. PHOTO/COURTESY
Majority Leader in the National Assembly Aden Duale has poked holes in the recently released Census data. [PHOTO | FILE]

Majority Leader in the National Assembly Aden Duale has poked holes in the recently released Census data.

Speaking at Parliament Buildings on Wednesday in a press conference that brought together all MPs and governors from North Eastern, Duale said the results have been skewed to tally with Huduma Namba data.

“The [2019 Census] results are not representative of Kenyans’ population. The results released recently were cooked to match with the figures the government got from the Huduma Namba registration campaign,” said Duale.

The 2019 Census results show that Garissa County, where Aden Duale comes from has a population size of 835, 482 people. Wajir, the other North Eastern Kenya County, has 775, 302 people. Mandera County has 862, 079 Kenyans, whereas Marsabit County, which is mapped as an Eastern Kenya county, has 447, 150 constituents.

Duale took issue with the above figures, saying the results are erroneous, given “the population growth in those counties is not reflective of Kenya’s annual growth rate of 3.2 per cent”.

“The president should be concerned why there are more deaths in Wajir and Garissa, than births,” said Duale.

According to the Garissa Township MP, the Census results were tilted to “snatch the people of North Eastern of their representation and resources”.

“We want the [national bureau of statistics] servers opened. [If that won’t happen], we will challenge the [2019 census] results in court,” said Duale.

Duale wondered how Balambala Constituency “has more men than women”.

“In Balambala, they are saying that there are 20, 000 men and 9, 000 women. And, those men are married. Then, it leaves me wondering: Did those men marry fellow men?” posed Duale.

According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, Balambala Constituency in Garissa has a population size of 31, 819.

Garissa Governor Ali Korane claimed that Balambala’s population was actually reduced from 92, 000 to 29, 000.

The North Eastern leaders’ gripe comes on the back of queries raised by leaders from other parts of Kenya, among them Meru Governor Kiraitu Murungi, who protested the 1.5 million figure for his county and said he will sue the bureau if corrections are not made.

Murungi alleged that most of the people in Ngare Mara special ward were listed as constituents of Isiolo County but said they were promised a correction before announcement of the final tally.