Acholi Paramount Chief rallies subjects on census

The Acholi Paramount Chief, Rwot Onen David Acana II, has rallied his subjects to reject myths that counting people is uncultured and would result in death.

He appealed to them to embrace the upcoming National Housing and Population Census undertaken by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos).

Rwot Acana II, who spoke to this publication from his palace in Gulu City on May 7, also disclosed that the cultural institution would embark on a mobilisation drive against poverty.

The cultural leader’s response was provoked by claims by a section of Acholi that being counted would cause misfortunes in the community. 

Rwot Acana II said: “I feel that as it is the nature of people, they always have doubts because sometimes there could be some people who do not support government’s programmes or those who do not want government programmes to succeed.”

He alluded to the previous Covid-19 vaccination hesitancy by a section of Acholi people who urged the communities to denounce it.  

“As it is our culture and belief in the Acholi initially, people were saying that people should not be counted. You are also aware that some people if you ask them their numbers of children, they respond by saying the children are there but the number should not be disclosed. The people should be counted so that they are known to help the government to plan what it has for its people, the local people, each household,” he said.

He said the census would also help to address the concerns that the Acholi Sub-region is facing such as poverty.  

“Most importantly, the people of Acholi should embrace this census exercise based on the issue that we the Acholi are among the poorest. We should be aware of what people have, what people lack, the type of houses they have, and how everything is so that it also helps us as to know ourselves better, the problems we have and everything that the people are facing,” he said.  

Mr Milton Opiyo, a resident of Pece-Laroo Division, said the census is a step to establishing facts about the alleged poverty in Acholi Sub-region. He asked people to cooperate with the enumerators.

Ubos, in a carrot-and-stick approach, says it prefers that Ugandans voluntarily offer to be counted, but that it won’t hesitate to enforce compliance using the law for those who resist or sabotage the National Housing and Population Census exercise, starting May 10.

The punishments are prescribed for persons convicted for breaching provisions of Section 29(3) of the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) Act, 1998.

It provides that any person who hinders an authorised officer, in this case enumerators and other Ubos officials, from performing lawful duties, refuses to furnish required information or makes false declarations commit an offence.

If convicted, the penalties under the Act are imprisonment of up to six months or a fine not exceeding thirty currency points (Shs600,000), or both.

Poverty in Acholi
According to the 2014 census, UBOS puts the poverty rate in Acholi at 64 percent, West Nile at 59 percent, Lango at 57 percent, and Teso at 56 percent. 

The National Population and Housing Census will commence on May 10 and it will last 10 days. For the first time, it will capture clans, as revealed by the UBOS Executive Director, Dr Chris Mukiza.