The Kenyan population census results released at the end of August 2010 leaves a lot to be desired, especially, that of northern Kenya districts. With the passage of the new constitution and the expected incoming of the county administrations at local level, one would expect the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics to be robust in their work, in particular, that of the census.

According to the government experts the population of the 8 affected northern Kenya districts was projected at about 1.4 million but the actual census results had put it at 2.3 million, with a variance of 0.9 million. Due to the huge discrepancy between the estimated and actual, Hon. Wycliffe Oparanya, minister for Planning and National Development cancelled the results.

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics should be honest enough to share with Kenyans what happened in other districts. After a closer analysis of the census report, one would conclude that, the government policy makers are only interested in justifying the population increase in terms of births. The government experts should discuss in public the effects of immigration and its wider impact on the national demographic patterns. The variance between projected and actual population in northern Kenya could have been as a result of legal or illegal immigration from the neighbouring countries. Everyone knows that immigration is the issue in northern Kenya but the government is unwilling even to acknowledge that it exists. One would be interested to know how many foreign citizens are living in Kenya. Immigration is of such importance to the national and local county planning and resource allocation that the local administration in future ought to know the true population of their areas. Until that time that the government becomes transparent enough to give us all figures, people will not believe any census results.

Dickson Aduonga