MP Kaluma ordered to pay child school fees
MP Peter Kaluma has been ordered to pay his child’s school fees arrears amounting to Kes665,000
by the Children’s Court at Nairobi. Failure to comply with the order will see his salary attached, the court warned. Principal Magistrate Elizabeth Muiru said Mr Kaluma failed to provide any proof of payment despite consistently claiming to have paid the fees for his daughter, referred to as HA in court documents.
“I find that the defendant has failed to avail sufficient proof. On the other hand, it is my contention that
the plaintiff has availed proof of having paid school fees and demonstrated that the minor has arrears of
school fees to date,” explained the magistrate.
Women rights
The judgment comes three months after a group of women’s rights defenders held a peaceful protest
demanding that the MP “pay school fees” for a child he allegedly had with his former lover in 2007,
outside the Milimani Law Courts.
The activists wanted to lead by example by settling the school fees arrears for his daughter. Mr Kaluma is
sponsoring a Family Protection Bill that outlines strict penalties for gay and lesbian Kenyans.
Ruth Mumbi, the Co-founder and Convener of Women Collective Kenya, said that,” Hon. Kaluma has
been fronting himself as the champion for the family and yet has repeatedly refused to pay school fees
for his daughter, to the point of 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.”
Additionally, Editar Ochieng of the Kibera-based Feminist for Peace and Justice Centre also called on the
MP to stop perpetuating oppression against women and single mothers by fulfilling his obligation to his
children.
Read also: Men who go sterile for their women
Gender-based violence
“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.
This comes in a time when female education is being prioritized and the girls are showing progress in the
classroom but the male still have the larger number in school and are still dominating the top grades.
For example, according to the numbers from the 2022 KCSE examination results, out of the 841,416
candidates that sat for the examination, 443,644 were male while 437,772 were female. It is evident
that there were more males than females.
However, this figure was an improvement because only 14 counties had more male than female
candidates compared to 17 counties in 2021. The counties included Mombasa, Kilifi, Tana River, Lamu,
Turkana, Samburu, West Pokot, Kajiado, Narok, Homa Bay, Migori, Garissa and Mandera.
The male candidates had more numbers from grade A to C+, only for the girls to get the higher number
in C plain as you go lower. For instance, while 4445 male students scored an A, only 271 females got a
similar grade.
Girls’ education
Female education has become of paramount importance in the modern society as it empowers women
to achieve their full potential and contributes to overall social progress. A research by the World
Bank shows that investing in a girl’s education yield’s significant returns, not just for individuals but also
for entire communities and the nation at large. This is because they participate more in the labor force
and contribute to economic growth.
Also, according to a study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, involved fathers who are
emotionally engaged and actively involved in their children’s lives impact their overall development,
positively, by fostering better cognitive and emotional outcomes for them.
It is therefore important for a girl to be educated in a world that is constantly evolving, to help prepare
them for the ever-changing landscape. This equips them with the tools and knowledge needed to
navigate through complexities, make informed decisions and contribute positively to society.
