Namayingo: Dominic Omolo, a resident of Simase cell mutumba town council in Namayingo district, is behind bars for purportedly dodging the ongoing National Housing and Population Census. He was arrested on Monday, May 13, when he refused to be enumerated by the village enumerator.
The 60-year-old man says that his faith [njiri kalu] doesn’t allow him to be counted as Jesus, and his creator already recorded him in his (God) book of believers.
Mr Trevor Solomon Baleke, tye deputy resident district Commissioner (DRDC) of Namayingo, confirmed the apprehension of the ageing resident, saying he is undermining an important government programme. He says sensitizations about the importance of the exercise were made, but some “elements” are only misusing the name of God.
“We have arrested that old ‘mzee’ for refusing to be counted. We have been sensitizing people that it is offensive for any Ugandan citizen to dodge the enumeration,” says Mr Baleke.
Baleke stresses that the programme aims to collect data and statistics of the country’s population for the government to have proper planning for effective service deliveries. Baleke says such people (dodgers) are the beneficiaries of government’s services.
He added that the embattled Omolo will forcefully be counted from police cells as it is mandatory, cautioning addicted believers of different purported faiths to refrain from violating the significant initiative.
“Mr Omolo will be counted by force from police cells. The government wants to help people like him. We are going to arrest every individual using their religion to refuse the enumeration,” he said before urging that; “Those that have not yet it, please do and very well answer the questions being asked by our enumerators.”
Omolo’s religion treats the enumeration exercise as a satanic, which Baleke argues that the government doesn’t want to know about the religious theories but collecting the statistics of its population. The population and housing census is a constitutional initiative conducted after every 10 years.
Baleke says the old man must be probed about his characteristics in the Namayingo community to establish his conduct and duties that prompted him to refuse the enumeration.
“What challenges is that these people are the most wrong elements in the community. Now they pretend they are good people and they don’t want to know about government programmes. Police must investigate his conduct,” the commissioner further noted.
He, however, encouraged residents of Namayingo and across the country to provide a warm reception to the enumerators moving to households to collect the data. The enumeration now takes the fifth day after the census night of Thursday, May 9, 2024.
