GARISSA, Kenya – The High Court in Garissa has nullified the 2019 census results for Wajir, Mandera, and Garissa counties, citing discrepancies in the reported population figures.
Justice John Onyiego ruled that the figures released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) failed to accurately reflect the region’s population, raising concerns about their impact on resource allocation and political representation.
The case was filed by Abdullahi Bashir Sheik and 24 others, who accused KNBS of manipulating census data to the detriment of the North Eastern region.
The petitioners argued that the official figures, which indicated a population decline compared to the 2009 census, were inaccurate and resulted in reduced national funding and political influence for the affected counties.
The court found that while KNBS adhered to UN guidelines in conducting the census, it was “impractical” for the population in the three counties to have dropped significantly within a decade.
Furthermore, KNBS was faulted for failing to comply with a court order to scrutinize the disputed figures, leading to the decision to annul the results.
“In view of the disobedience of the court order for scrutiny to verify the truth on the disputed figures, the only commendable order is to quash the 2019 census results for Mandera, Wajir, and Garissa,” the ruling stated.
KNBS defended its process, arguing that technological advancements streamlined data collection and eliminated the need for a traditional post-enumeration evaluation.
However, the court remained unconvinced and directed the agency to conduct a fresh mini-census within a year.
Additionally, census results for Eldas, Tarbaj, Wajir West, Wajir East, and Wajir North constituencies were also nullified.
Until a new population count is completed, the court ordered the affected counties to rely on 2009 census data for administrative and resource allocation purposes.
