Rwenzururu King, His Majesty Charles Wesley Mumbere, has embraced the National Housing and Population Census 2024 exercise and pledged to spread the census gospel in his kingdom.
He was on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, meeting with the Executive Director of Uganda Bureau of Statistics and Census Commissioner, Dr Chris Mukiza, at his palace in Kasese town, western Uganda.
“Since I was born, this will be my second census. The census of 2014 found me in Kampala. I was counted as a resident of Kampala with my royal family,” he stated.
He added: “I will be so happy to be counted while at home in my kingdom. This will be my first census to be counted while I’m home.”
King Mumbere said this was caused by the nature of the life he lived and the fact that the subsequent censuses were done while he was in America.
“You may wonder a man of my age being counted only twice, where was I? It was because of the nature of my life since I was born. I wonder whether they knew of my existence because I missed out on the counting.”
He said the cultural institution will cooperate with UBOS fully to make sure this census is a success.
“We are aware that in some cultures, people fear being counted because they believe that when you count their children, they will die. Today that myth has disappeared because people are more civilised. Every country must indeed know the number of people in that are in that country.”
King Mumbere promised to speak to communities to ensure that they are counted, saying it is important for the government to know how many are in the communities for planning purposes.
“So, my royal family and I are ready to be counted. It is true that when such programs come, the key personalities take the lead to motivate others.”
He said when the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) launched the National Identity Card registration in the Rwenzori region, the three cultural leaders of Tooro, Rwenzururu and Bwamba were invited to go to Fort Portal City to participate in that program.
“We were the first ones to be registered after His Excellency The President and the first in the Rwenzori region. So, we will take a front seat even in this program so that others may follow.”
He added: “Although we have itineraries that take us away from the kingdom, I will make sure that on that day, I’m around to be counted.”
The King encouraged local leaders and media houses to get involved and preach the census message.
In his speech, Dr Mukiza promised to facilitate the king so that he could visit his people and preach the census message.
“We are not going to reveal any individual information,” Dr Mukiza assured the King.
He revealed that counting has been there since time immemorial, right from creation.
“After Genesis, there was an order for counting people because there was going to be an Exodus. Even when Jesus Christ was born, his mother and father were going to be registered for census. So, it is a biblical exercise.”
He also talked about the myth that people believe that when they are counted, they will die or that the government will take away or tax their property saying it is not true.
“This myth which says that when you are counted, you will die is not true. We shall get information for planning for our areas, regions and country. You cannot manage what is not measured,” he explained.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Dr Mukiza said the King of Rwenzururu has embraced the exercise and promised to preach the gospel of census and to be the first person to be counted.
“We want to ensure that we sensitize the public and it gets ready so that everybody is counted. That is why I travelled all the way from Kampala to meet the kings so that everyone is counted,” he added.
