Controversy Peter Kaluma Calling UDA Candidates ‘Taka Taka’: “Nothing to Fear”

Member of Parliament for Homa Bay Town, Peter Opondo Kaluma, called those running for office through the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) in the Nyanza region “garbage”, which sparked a fierce political debate
Kaluma defended the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM)’s call for political zoning despite opposition from UDA supporters who want fair competition
A section of Kenyans expressed anger at Kaluma’s remarks, while many condemned the use of derogatory language

Member of Parliament for Homa Bay Town, Peter Opondo Kaluma, has sparked a debate after he called those running for a position through the UDA in the Nyanza area “garbage.”

Member of Parliament Peter Kaluma refers to his colleagues as ‘trash.’ Photo: Peter Kaluma.
Source: Facebook

The critical politician from ODM was responding to the list of UDA candidates vying for parliamentary seats in the counties of Homa Bay, Migori, Poisonousand Siaya.

He claimed that the efforts of the 27 people will not contribute anything important to the development agenda or the re-election of the President William Ruto.

“There is nothing to fear here! All the people you see here are trash who cannot help President Ruto in anything!” he said.

Does Peter Kaluma want political zoning?

His statements come when ODM emphasizes the planning of political areas (zoning), which has been opposed by hundreds of UDA supporters who want fair competition.

However, Kaluma insisted that ODM’s call for “zoning” aims to protect the number of MPs of the union before the elections, stressing that it is not because of fear of competition from what he called “sangwenya”, a term used to mean politicians who are allegedly brought to bring violence or threats.

Despite the controversial remarks of Kaluma, Member of Parliament for Suba North, Millie Odhiambohe welcomed two UDA candidates in his area, showing his willingness to compete with them fairly.

“I have seen there are two UDA candidates in Suba North. I invite them to compete in the name of Jesus. (On a personal level). The issue does not belong to anyone. Let’s meet in the field,” he said.

Who are the candidates for UDA parliament in Nyanza?

	Fever Bay	Migori	Poisonous	Siaya
1.	Ogindo Martin (Homa Bay Town)	Ex-MP Opiyo Jared (Awendo)	Thomas Nyamori (Kisumu Central)	Thomas Andiwo (Bondo)
2.	Odemba Carilus (Karachuonyo)	Isca Oluoch (Awendo)	Ayugi George (Kisumu East)	Oyugi Frederick (Ugunja)
3.	Obuya Kennedy (Karachuonyo)	Ex-MP Edith Anyanga (Nyatike)	Ogendo Richard (Kisumu East)
4.	Aroko Philip (Kasipul)	Dula Shilton (Nyatike)	Collins Ochieng (Nyakach)
5.	Vickins Bondo (Kasipul)	Okello Dorothy Atieno (Rongo)	Onyango Paulines Ochieng’ (Nyakach)
6.	Ocholla Stephen (Suba North)	Ojwang Hillary (Rongo)	Weda Ambrose (Say)
7.	Silas Jakakimba (Suba North)	Zatta John Barasa (Rongo)
8.		Kihali Andago (Suna East)
9.		Kennedy Kisia (uriri)

How Kenyans reacted to Kaluma’s ‘garbage’ statement

Boni Gor: “A leader who calls his opponents garbage is very progressive. Congratulations to the lawyer.”

John Kinyanjui: “Let democracy rule. The ‘O’ in ODM stands for ‘democratic’. These candidates you call ‘garbage’ have the democratic right to run through the party they want. It seems Mbutaa has started to fear Omena.”

Violet Odhiambo: “The UDA party has been well represented in Nyanza. We will return the UDA waste to be useful to the people. The current ODM waste is rotten and cannot be recycled.”

Koech Philemon: “Mhesh, in my opinion, free zoning will make the number of voters reach almost 100%. Let’s remove zoning and encourage more candidates to compete.”

Kilel Stan: “Peter Kaluma, you are wrong. No one is ‘trash’ in this country. With or without zoning, everyone is free to run for any position anywhere, regardless of their party, even as an independent candidate. You can disagree with them politically but you don’t have to insult them to prove your point.”