Police in Wobulenzi Town Council, Luwero District have arrested a self-proclaimed messiah named Jesus and his followers for refusing to be enumerated in the ongoing National Housing and Population Census (NHPC).
Daniel Kikonyogo, the area Local Council 1 chairperson says the man who identifies himself as Jesus Navas Vera, the King of Star Glopper Eden Church and his followers went into hiding when enumerators showed up at their premises.
His followers say they do not believe in the exercise.
John Ojokuna, the Luwero District Police Commander says the self-styled Jesus insisted that he did not want to be counted and would face charges of defying the government programme as stipulated in the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) Act.
Over 100 families in Kamira Sub County in Luwero who subscribe to Enjiri cult have also refused to be counted insisting that the exercise is Satanic.
On May, 10, 2024, UBOS embarked on a 10-day census exercise themed; “It matters to be counted,”
Meanwhile, UBOS has revealed that 30% of the approximately 8.7 million households across the country have been covered in the first three days of the exercise.
Addressing journalists during a weekly press briefing at the Police Headquarters in Naguru, on Monday, Dr. Albert Byamugisha the chairperson of the UBOS board of directors revealed that more enumerators have been deployed in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan area in a bid to beat the set deadline of May 19th.
Earlier, UBOS announced a one-day extension of the census exercise in Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono to May 20th, to enable enumerators make up for the time lost on the first day due to technical glitches experienced with the Computer-Assisted Personal Interviews (CAPI) tablets.
