NAIROBI, KENYA: Homa Bay MP Peter Kaluma who has been sued by a woman for child upkeep has filed his payslip in court to prove he can only cater for the child’s education and health.
The MP has told the children’s court he is unable to cater for other needs of the child under the care of the woman who has sued him. The other child whom he sired with the same woman, has been living with the MP for the last seven years. Kaluma’s payslip for January shows his gross salary, Sh899,025 was deducted leaving him with nothing to take home.
In his response, to the case filed against him, Kaluma argues he is unable to pay for upkeep because he only earns less than Sh51,000 due to deductions for loans and mortgages. “I have a family and other children to provide for. I am unable to provide for the child under the plaintiff’s custody beyond catering for her health and school fees as I already do,” says Kaluma.
The MP who is also an advocate says he ensures that the school fees are timely remitted beginning of each term. The MP in response argues that he has been paying for the upkeep of the child living with the woman contrary to claims that he had failed to pay school fees. See also: Traffic court hit by ‘funny’ jam According to the MP, the mother of the child also has equal responsibility. Martha Ojera who filed the case is seeking Sh1.6 million as expenses she has used for upkeep of the children. She claims that she cohabited with Kaluma between 2003 and 2007. They had two children. The first child was born in 2005 while the second in 2007. Ojera says she discovered in 2007 that the MP had been unfaithful to him and was planning to marry another woman.
She accuses the MP of physically assaulting him when she was expecting the second child after she refused to move out of their house. She travelled to Homa Bay to seek help from Kaluma’s parents, but found that the MP had moved out of the house with the child she had left behind when she came back to Nairobi.
She is seeking custody of the first child plus the maintenance. The MP was in 2008 ordered to pay Sh20,000 per month to the woman as upkeep for the child. He was further ordered to pay school fees for the child as soon as she joins school. Ojera recently filed an urgent application seeking to have Kaluma to obey the court order directing him to pay school fees, medical cover and utility bills.
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