Ubos says still analysing 2024 census report, regrets error in results

The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) has gone back to the drawing board to analyse the 2024 National Population and Housing Census report which was released on Thursday last week.

Ubos pulled down the main census report from its website following public outcry over contradicting figures that wrongly showed the population of Acholi as dropping from 2,131,443 to 1,941,913 while the Bagisu have fallen from 2,390,975 to 2,096,149.

Instead, the Bagisu population increased from 1,647,382 in 2014 to 2,096,149 people, and the Acholi from 1,470,884 in 2014 to 1,941,913 people.

While the Bureau said the revised report would be uploaded yesterday, it had not yet been uploaded by press time.

In an interview with Monitor yesterday, Mr Didacus Okoth, the senior public relations officer at Ubos, without revealing when the revised report will be uploaded, said they were still analysing it to harmonise the mismatched figures on the four tribes; the Acholi, Bagisu, Bakiga, and Langi.

“Once we have analysed everything, we shall put it back on the website. We are harmonising the data that mismatch on the four tribes and then we shall upload,” Mr Okoth said.

Ubos is a government agency mandated to ensure the collection, analysis, and publication of integrated, relevant, reliable, and timely statistical information for the country.

Responding to the hot debate brought about by the mismatching figures, Dr Chris Mukiza, the Ubos executive director, on his X handle said the mix-up was a regrettable human error.

“The population figures in census 2014 for Bakiga and Bagisu, Langi and Acholi were erroneously interchanged at the time of printing. Thus every tribe experienced growth over the past 10 years,” Mr Mukiza said.

The report also indicated wrong figures for the Bakiga and the Langi in 2014 showing 1,470,884 for the Bakiga and 1,647,382 for the Langi instead of 2,390,975 for the Bakiga and 2,131,443 for the Langi.

The current population for the Bakiga stands at 2,947,837 and the Langi stands at 2,703,277.

Mr Vincent Senono, the principal statistician and acting deputy executive director of Ubos, on Friday last week also admitted the error and said it was only 2014 figures with an error, but the 2024 figures remain accurate.

“It not that we forged the report or changed it. You know when you are writing a report and there are many people, sometimes you ignore small things. So I know UBOS is going to come back to you people to officially clarify. We are removing it (report) from the website now and then we are going to upload the revised one,” Mr Senono said.

Today, the Ubos is set to address the media to clarify the census report as well as analyse some of the information captured in the report.

The FDC party deputy secretary for publicity, Mr Warid Lubega Mulindwa.