• According to results released on Monday, Lamu has a population of 143,920 people.
• Males are 76,103 and females are 67,813. Four people are intersex.
Lamu leaders have rejected the 2019 census results saying they don’t reflect the true picture on the ground.
According to results released on Monday, Lamu has a population of 143,920 people. Males are 76,103 and females are 67,813. Four people are intersex.
Speaking in Lamu town on Friday, Senator Anwar Loitiptip and Women Rep Ruweida Obbo said they were shocked by the census numbers.
The two leaders termed the report as fake and dubious.
Anwar said Lamu leaders projected the population to have been around 320,000 people.
He said it was impossible that despite the huge influx of people migrating to Lamu in pursuit of the mega-state projects being undertaken, the population still hadn’t grown.
Anwar said Wetemere, Juhudi, Salama, Basuba, Barani, Lamu East, Dide Waride, Kiunga and other remote areas in the region were not reached by census teams.
“We know the enumerators failed to reach several villages due to security concerns. So we wonder what their basis for Lamu’s calculations was,” Anwar said.
Obbo said she was beyond shocked by the figures which she termed as highly questionable.
She, however, noted that the high migration of Lamu people to other counties in search of employment was a major contributor to the low population results.
The MP reiterated the senator’s remarks that some areas in the region were not reached.
“This report is not truthful and we ask the government to treat it as much. We hope that it will not stifle resources coming here,” Obbo said.
Lamu elder Khaldun Vae said the community has many more people than the 143,920 reported.
However, educationist Abdalla Fadhil said Lamu’s low population could be due to drugs.
“The youth who are at reproductive age are busy doing drugs. They can’t have babies. They don’t even want to marry and raise families” Fadhil said.