Garissa leaders yesterday urged the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics to consider nomadic patterns during next year’s national census.
Speaking at a Garissa hotel, Galbeth MCA Abdirizak Ismail said no nomad should be left behind during the August population and housing census.
“Most of our people sometimes cross the border into Somalia and Ethiopia in search of water and pasture, so it’s important to know where they will be during the census nights of August 24 and 25, 2019,” he said.
Garissa statistics officer Khatra Dahir said the leaders’ concerns will be included in a report that will form the basis of the census.
He urged them to support clerical officers undertaking the mapping to ensure a successful census.
County commissioner Joshua Chepcheing said despite security challenges posed by al Shabaab along the Kenya-Somalia border and the vast rugged terrain, the census will be a success because security officers are up to the task.
The last census was carried out in 2009 and put the population at 38,610,097 people. Kenyan Somalis were 2.38 million.
