On paper, Homa Bay Town MP George Peter Opondo Kaluma is a lawyer, legal educator and a member of the esteemed National Assembly’s Speaker’s panel.
His bio on X reads: MP. Human Rights/Governance/Pro-Life Advocate. Teacher. Husband. Father. Mentor.
He also earned his education at some of the well-respected institutions in the country, including St Joseph’s School Rapogi and the University of Nairobi.
But when the 50-year-old opens his mouth, his critics are left with many unanswered questions.
That the third-term legislator is in the eye of an incitement storm and has been summoned by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) is no surprise.
To some, the man from Kanyada in Homa Bay County has cut a niche for himself as a rabble-rouser blessed with a sharp tongue.
Last weekend, the ODM politician was in his true element, with his utterances in the build-up to the Linda Mwananchi rally in Homa Bay County now under investigation by the NCIC.
Mr Kaluma is accused of issuing a command that anyone who says Wantam (a corruption of the term “One Term” in reference to the push to stop President William Ruto’s 2027 re-election) should be dealt with, declaring that Homa Bay County is an ODM stronghold and fully rallies behind Dr Ruto. The MP has, of course, claimed his words have been taken out of context.
While his middle name “Opondo” in his native language Dholuo loosely translates to “he is hiding”, the legislator thought his incitement-to-violence remarks would remain hidden in this era of digital technology.
The MP rarely shies away from rolling in the mud. If not getting into a fight during rallies or running his mouth dry, the lawmaker attracts controversy like a moth to light.
Always unapologetic, Mr Kaluma often carries himself as a man who could be a law unto himself, going by his response to the summons by the NCIC.
Chest-thumping, the MP said he would not be available on the date specified in the summons because of State duties.
“I will be engaged in unavoidable State duties on Wednesday, August 19, 2026. Please reschedule my attendance before the Commission to a date after August 27, 2026,” he said.
But the man is not averse to controversy.
When you peruse his social media posts, he has perfected a praise and worship stance to President Ruto’s government, in what some might see as being at unparalleled levels.
If he is not calling for a stop to male circumcision, dismissing it as “male genital mutilation”, he is hurling insults on his social media platform.
At the height of unity talks between President Ruto and his party leader Raila Odinga, the MP went on X to say: “I welcome a united, equitable Kenya with all my body parts!”
In November 2022, Mr Kaluma seemed to be celebrating some misfortune facing controversial Kenyan lawyer Miguna Miguna. He wrote: “The earth is hard! This Canadian monitor lizard imagined he could be a crocodile in Kenya!”
Such is the tone adopted by the man who is now in the spotlight for his remarks and the violence experienced.
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