A woman has sued Homa Bay MP Peter Kaluma for the maintenance of a child he allegedly sired with her seven years ago. She becomes the second woman to claim to have cohabited with the MP for five years before he abandoned her.
The woman wants the court to compel Kaluma to honour a court order requiring him to pay school fees, medical cover and other utility fees.
The 31-year-old woman also wants the court to order Kaluma to release their first born son aged nine years as directed by a magistrate in 2008.
She is demanding Sh1.6 million, money she has spent to maintain the child. The woman says her daughter, who is in standard one, has not been blocked from attending classes since January due to non-payment of fees.
Kaluma is expected in court today to explain why he has failed to pay the school fees. On April 11, the MP filed an affidavit in court saying he is unable to provide for the child because he has a family and other children to provide for. In the affidavit, he said he can only pay school fees and medical needs for the girl directly to the school.
Kaluma said he has been meeting the child’s school and medical expenses. “My salary is less than Sh51,722 due to loans and mortgage deductions,” he says. Kaluma attached a copy of his pay slip showing his total deduc- tions for the month of January were Sh899,225 and his salary for January was nil.
The woman says she was forced to seek intervention from the Parliamentary Service Commission to attach Kaluma’s salary so as to pay the fees. She says she has first term’s fees arrears amounting to Sh57,000 and Sh52,000 for second term.
Through lawyer Goretti Kwamboka, the woman said she lived with Kaluma as husband and wife until she discovered the MP was planning to marry another woman behind her back. Court documents indicate that Kaluma was ordered by the court in 2008 to pay Ojera Sh20,000 for up- keep, medical and school fees.
Another woman filed a similar suit against Kaluma last year demanding Sh66,100 per month for child sup- port. She said she was romantically in- volved with Kaluma between 2001 and 2002.