The 2019 Population and Housing Census report released on Monday captured a population of only 32 people in the Mau Forest, leaving out the nearly 50,000 of “illegal settlers” who have since been kicked out by the government.
The report presented to President Uhuru Kenyatta indicates that only 28 men and four women were found in Mau Narok’s 752.9 square kilometres of land.
The section of the Mau Forest that falls under Kericho and Bomet counties and covering a total of 736 square kilometres had no one.
Other forests also recorded meagre populations of between 100 and 500, raising questions about whether the ordinary forest settlers were enumerated at all.
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics Director-General Zachary Mwangi Tuesday told the Nation that the team only counted the people they found on the reference nights of August 24 and 25.
“Our numbers are of the people we found on the said night. A census is where you find the people and count them where they are,” he said.
He, however, said the forests are not categorised as settlement areas, but only for government staff like Kenya Forest Service (KFS) workers or their Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) counterparts.
It is possible that the number recorded is of KWS and KFS staff residing in the water tower.
