• From Saturday, August 24, the process of counting all persons within the borders of Kenya will begin.
• Police officers will resume their leave at a later date.
Image: FILE
All National Police Officers have been asked to report back to work to facilitate the census exercise scheduled to start on Saturday.
In a statement sent on Tuesday by the Deputy Inspector General of Police, police officers have been directed to report back to their work stations.
"Please note that you are all directed to ensure that all officers on leave are asked to report back to their duty stations by Thursday, August 22," the statement read.
He said police officers will resume their leave at a later date.
"Officers will be informed on when to resume or take their leave at a later date," the statement signed by Japhet Koome for the Deputy IG said.
From this Saturday, the process of counting all persons within the borders of Kenya will begin.
The national census will take a week, ending on August 31.
Outdoor sleepers, persons on transit, individuals in hotels and lodges, and institutions such as hospitals and prisons will all be counted.
Already some counties have said they will close businesses including bars to ensure all people within their areas are counted.
All those on duty on Saturday evening such as nurses, doctors, watchmen will be counted with the household even though they will absent.
The national census is carried out every 10 years to primarily determine population, which guides planners on resource allocation.
Kenya's population was reported as 38.6 million during the 2009 census, compared to 28.7 million inhabitants in 1999, 21.4 million in 1989, and 15.3 million in 1979.
In this year's census for the first time, all the data required will be captured electronically through a tablet computer.
About 170,000 enumerators and supervisors have been recruited to work in this year’s Housing and Population Census.