Governor threatens to go to court over 2019 Census report

Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki on Monday threatened to move to court hours after Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) released preliminary findings of the 2019 national census.

Governor Njuki along with Tharaka MP Gitonga Murugara disputed the figure released by KNBS stating that they would move to court seeking orders for a repeat of the exercise.

According to the KNBS findings, the population of the county is 393,177 people almost 28,000 more than the 2009 figure of 365,330.

Governor Njuki noted that the KNBS numbers reflected an average of eight live births over the 10 years in the county, a figure he contested saying that Chuka County Referral Hospital reports an average of nine live births at the facility each day.

"There is a clear indication that these figures are not true. That is why we would like to know [what happened]," he stated.

Tharaka Nithi population disputed

Governor Njuki further stated that he believes the county's population is more than 500,000. He outlined that a projection made by KNBS after surveying 105,152 homes had estimated the county could have 428,959 people.

MP Murugara noted that the alleged inaccurate numbers could affect budgetary allocation to the county.

"Population figures are critical in deciding the share of the national cake that a region gets. We will not allow [presentation of] non-credible figures," the MP stated.