Wajir County Commissioner Loyford Kibaara
Two chiefs have been arrested in Wajir South for allegedly engaging in irregularities in the ongoing national census. The chiefs were identified as Mr Musa Abdi (Khumbi location), Mr Khalif Sirat Farah (Habaswein central). Habaswein central assistant chief Harriet Maow has also been arrested. Wajir County Commissioner Loyford Kibaara said more chiefs in the county were being sought over the offence.
“We are holding two chiefs and an assistant chief for allegedly inflating household units in their areas, investigations have been launched,” Mr Kibaara said. “We are looking for more chiefs after we received information that they had engaged in the offence across the county,” said Mr Kibaara.
According to Mr Kibaara, the three have been inflating the number of households in their locations. “We noticed that the number of households in their respective areas have increased tremendously compared to what was captured during mapping and pre-listing which raises suspicion,” he said.
He said the chiefs will be investigated and charged if found guilty. Senior security officers have registered complaints on the manner in which chiefs are coordinating the process. Areas under surveillance are Mandera West and North and parts of Lafey sub county. Political leadership of both counties have pitched tent in their respective areas in what they term sensitisation of locals on the importance of population census.
Source: Daily Nation