Uasin Gishu, Kakamega census officials demand to be paid

Officials who took part in the August 2019 national population census in Uasin Gishu and Kakamega counties took to the streets on Tuesday to demand their pay. 

They said they are yet to be paid three months after the national exercise.

Speaking to journalists in Eldoret town, the officials, who included the ICT supervisors, content supervisors and enumerators, disclosed that their

counterparts in neighbouring counties have already been paid. The same sentiments were expressed by those from Kakamega .

“Machakos, Nandi, Elgeyo-Markwet and Nairobi counties have already paid all the officials who took part in the census. But look at us here in Uasin Gishu county. We are being taken round. No one is giving us any concrete communication on the payment. It is almost three months now,” said Amos Kiprono, who was a content supervisor.

“We were trained here in Uasin Gishu for the exercise. But when we try to ask the officer in charge of KNBS about our pay he is telling us to go to Nairobi. We are confused,” said Mr Kiprono.

FRUSTRATED OFFICIALS

“The enumerators who were working under me have been pestering me. We were promised to get our pay two weeks after the exercise. What we now want is to be told who is paying us, Nairobi county or Uasin Gishu county? And when are they paying us?” added Mr Kiprono.

Ibrahim Musa, who said he was an enumerator in Turbo Sub-County, accused the authorities responsible for their payments of frustrating them.

He said they gave the exercise all the seriousness it required but it is unfortunate that they are now being taken in circles when it comes to payment.

“The whole exercise was so demanding. We worked up to late hours. As youth who took part in the exercise we are frustrated, we deserve better. We rightfully deserve to be paid for the work done,” said Mr Ibrahim.

The officials gave the authorities responsible for their pay three days to pay them, failure to which they have vowed to continue with their demonstrations.

KAKAMEGA PROTESTS

In Kakamega, about 100 supervisors and clerks who conducted the census also protested over the delayed payments, saying they were promised that they would receive their payments by October 12 but no money had been credited to their bank accounts by then, prompting them to take to the streets. 

They accused the County Statistics Officer Thomas Odhiambo of not responding to their enquiries about the matter.

Mr Gerald Nandwa said the county statistics boss has been making promises that they would be paid but that has not happened.

He added that Mr Odhiambo had told them that the list of names of supervisors and clerks was being verified by his office before payment is made.

Administration Police officers at the county statistics office blocked journalists who sought to interview Mr Odhiambo, who was in his office at the time of the protests.

Mr Odhiambo later invited Mr Nandwa and six of his colleagues for a meeting in his office but he declined to speak to journalists who had camped outside.