Government drops plan to use biometric system in census

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics director-general Zachary Mwangi addresses delegates during the launch of the Gross County Product report at KICC last month. The agency said planning of the forthcoming census is going on well. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Mr Obudho denied allegations that the government intends to secretly award the supply of the census biometric kits to the controversial firm Idemia.
  • Leaders from the Frontier Counties Development Council are also calling on the government to carry out a transparent census.

The government has dropped plans to use the biometric system during the upcoming national population census, an issue which is set to raise emotions especially in regions where residents have vowed not to accept the use of a manual system for enumeration.

With only Sh3.3 billion set for the purchase and operation of mobile tablet devices, questions are also being asked about what Sh15.2 billion out of the budgeted Sh18.5 billion set aside for the census will be used for.

“It will be impossible for us to use the biometric system to conduct the census because of various issues, key among them capturing data of children aged five years and below, who will not have developed reliable biometric features,” Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) director of population Macdonald Obudho told the Saturday Nation.

MOBILE TABLETS

Mr Obudho, who is also heading the technical committee for the census, also said a report on the suitability of using the biometric system had revealed that the country is not ready to adopt it.

Instead, the KNBS is awaiting the delivery of 164,700 mobile tablets by Moi and JKUAT universities, which won tenders to assemble the equipment.

“The tablets will be fitted with maps and coordinates of households, and will be connected to a national census dashboard which will receive data in real time from the field,” Mr Obudho said.

Earlier this year, KNBS director-general Zachary Mwangi advertised the tender for mobile device management software.

“KNBS invites sealed open national tenders for (the) provision of unified mobile device management software to support 164,700 mobile devices for 2019 Kenya Population Household Census… to be received on or before February 19, 2019,” a notice published by Mr Mwangi in local dailies said.

SECRET MEETINGS

The change of plan comes at a time when questions over the census continue to pile, with various organisations and individuals accusing the government of operating in secrecy months to the exercise, slated for the nights of August 24 and 25.

This follows a series of secret meetings that officials spearheading the census have been holding in unidentified places.

Queries on the nature of activities, how they relate to the census and the cost have gone unanswered, further raising suspicion.

Government officials who are directly involved in the planning of the census are Mr Mwangi, Mr Obudho and his assistant Samuel Ogolla.

The team is under the supervision of the National Treasury and Planning Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich and State Department of Planning Principal Secretary Julius Muia, who is heading the Census Steering Committee.

OT-MORPHO

Mr Muia said preparations for the national census are going on well. He said the team had finished collecting mapping data from 44 counties and is now finalising the production of maps for various enumeration zones.

On Friday, Mr Obudho denied allegations that the government is “hiding” some issues from the public, and said the meetings were normal due to the strenuous nature of the activity.

He also denied allegations that the government intends to secretly award the supply of the census biometric kits to the controversial firm Idemia, formed through a merger of Oberthur Technologies (OT) and Safran Identity & Security (Morpho), which supplied the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission with biometric kits used to identify voters in the 2017 general election, and which was accused of being an accomplice in the alleged rigging of the polls.

MOBILISE

Meanwhile, leaders have been mobilising their people to make sure that they are enumerated.

“This is an important event which will influence resource distribution, voter patterns, demarcation of boundaries and general provision of services. We are asking all our people to make sure that they travel to their upcountry homes for the exercise,” ODM national treasurer Timothy Bosire said.

In an interview, Mr Bosire said some regions will not accept the census if the process raises questions of fairness and openness.

“Without the use of biometric systems, it will not be easy to authenticate the results, just as it happened in the last census in 2009.”

Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro said the census results will be a key determinant on who will win the presidency in 2022.

TRANSPARENCY

In late January, Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga led Central Kenya politicians in launching a drive to have residents who migrated to other regions return home to be counted.

Bungoma Governor Wycliffe Wangamati is also running a similar campaign.

Leaders from the Frontier Counties Development Council are also calling on the government to carry out a transparent census.

“The biometric system raised a lot of questions in the 2017 general election which haven’t been well-answered to date. The credibility of the system remains in question,” Mandera Governor Ali Roba said.