The Speaker of Parliament, Anita Annet Among, has urged legislators to encourage constituents to participate in the ongoing National Housing and Population Census to provide crucial data for better government planning.

She made the appeal during her opening remarks while chairing the plenary session on Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Parliament.

Among said the exercise is critical to providing information on the current number of people living in Uganda and the nature of their households so as to enable the government to plan for them better.

“Talk to your electorates; encourage them to be registered because, at the end of the day, it is out of that registration that we shall know the population we have as a country; we will be able to plan for our people as a country based on the number that we know, and we will know the nature of the households,” Speaker Among remarked.

On Wednesday, May 15, 2024, a court in Luwero remanded a local pastor, Navas Vella, the self-proclaimed Jesus, to Buntuntumula prison for refusing to be counted during the ongoing National Population and Housing Census 2024.

He was charged with obstructing the execution of lawful duty contrary to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) Act, Sec. 28(3).

Early this week, the government extended the census exercise in the three districts of Kampala, Wakiso, and Mukono by one more day.

The Executive Director of the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, Dr. Chris Mukiza, said they needed more time to compensate for lost time since there was less activity on the first day of the counting.

The Uganda Bureau of Statistics kicked off the 2024 National Population and Housing Census on May 9, 2024, and is expected to end on May 19, 2024, under the theme It Matters to Be Counted.