Court Orders MP Kaluma to Pay Child Support to Ex-Lover

The Children’s Court at Nairobi has ordered Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma to pay his child’s school fees arrears amounting to KES 665,000 or else his salary will be attached for failed child maintenance.

Principal Magistrate Elizabeth Muiru found that despite severally claiming to have paid fees for his daughter HA, he had failed to provide any proof of payment, while her mother provided statements and notices of non-payment from the school.

“The plaintiff’s NTSC dated 22/9/2022 is allowed in the sum of Kshs. 665,500/= being school fees arrears. The amount to be settled in two instalments with effect from 30/8/2023, failure to, defendant’s salary to be attached,” reads the ruling.

The judgment comes just three months after a group of women’s rights defenders today held a peaceful protest outside Milimani Law Courts demanding that Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma “pay school fees” for a child he allegedly sired with his estranged lover in 2007.
The activists said that the MP, who is the sponsor of a Family Protection Bill that outlines strict penalties for gay and lesbian Kenyans, should settle the school fees arrears for his daughter – a matter that was mentioned today at the Nairobi Children’s Court.

“Hon. Kaluma has been fronting himself as the champion for the family and yet he has repeatedly refused to pay school fees for his daughter, to the point that the mother must come to court for something like this. This is unacceptable for an MP who wants to get political mileage in the name of being a family man. He is an embarrassment to all Kenyan men,” said Ruth Mumbi Co-founder and Convenor of Women Collective Kenya.

Editar Ochieng of the Kibra-based Feminist for Peace and Justice Centre called on the MP to stop perpetuating oppression against women and single mother’s by fulfilling his obligation to his children.

“Women continue to die from many factors that can be traced back to men’s failure to play their role. Kaluma’s bill does not even address the rampant cases of gender-based violence affecting Kenyan families. The MP is also keen to do away with any attempts to teach our children about sex. He has failed to appreciate that one of the main reasons girls become pregnant is a lack of education and his failure to educate his own daughter is contributing to this tragedy,” said Ochieng.