Budalang'i residents who turned up to list for Huduma Namba on Wednesday returned home without registering after machines in most centres failed.
The Star found hundreds of people queueing for listing at Mudembi centre in Bunyala North ward and Rukala centre in Bunyala South ward. Only 300 were listed at Rukala before the malfunction.
Some residents were forced to trek all the way to Nambengele registration centre in Ruambwa sublocation, five kilometres away, to register.
A day before the registration started on Wednesday, Bunyala deputy county commissioner Jacob Ruto told the Star that officials were targeting to register 778 people daily.
“Registration officials from Budalang'i constituency in Busia county are set to start registering the subcounty residents for Huduma Namba,” he said.
The registration in the subcounty is being led by chiefs from six locations assisted by assistant chiefs from 18 sublocations.
Ruto denied claims by the leader of Kengele Forum, a human rights organisation, that the registration will fail because Bunyala subcounty residents had not been sensitised.
He said chiefs and assistant chiefs have been sensitising people in barazas in the entire subcounty. The sensitisation has also been done through a local radio station.
“Chiefs and assistant chiefs have been sensitising people from their respective areas, so I'm confident the drive scheduled to start tomorrow [Wednesday] will succeed,” the deputy county Commissioner.
