By John Mutiso
Philip Aroko has denied claims that he ordered an attack on Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma during the voting exercise at Agoro Sare Primary School.
In an interview on Monday, December 1, Aroko said he was at the school as part of his routine monitoring of the voting process and insists he did not mobilise anyone against the MP.
He explained that he found Kaluma at the centre with other leaders and that there were reports of voter bribery.
Aroko said the school had thousands of registered voters and he was moving around the polling areas when he came across the MP.
“Agoro Sare Primary School has 5,000 registered voters and as a candidate, I was allowed to go around and see how the voting is taking place. When I got to Agoro, I found him with some MCA from Kabondo Kasipul and we heard that they were distributing money; they were bribing voters,” he said.
Aroko says he greeted Kaluma and cautioned him against any wrongdoing, but the crowd reacted before he could finish engaging with him.
“I was going to check on the areas that voting were taking place then I met him. I said hi to Kaluma and told him that I was also a member of ODM and he should not do anything stupid. Before I could finish talking with him, people had already come shouting at him,” he added.
Aroko added that the video shows him trying to move with the MP to protect him as the situation escalated, but the crowd presence made it impossible to control what followed.
“In that video, you can see me moving away with him, trying to guard him from the people because people were already charging at him. People overwhelmed me until I had to move away because there were also police. I moved into my car, I don’t know what happened there,” he further said.
Kaluma was attacked while accompanying ODM candidate Boyd Were.
According to media reports, chaos broke out when a group of goons confronted the MP shortly after his arrival.
In the melee, Kaluma’s bodyguard reportedly lost his firearm, adding to the gravity of the incident.
The lawmaker was bleeding from the head, with blood stains visible on his neck and chest as he was escorted away from the scene.
Kaluma directly blamed Aroko for the violence, accusing his supporters of attempting to intimidate voters and disrupt the polling process.
Speaking after the attack, the lawmaker said the attackers were attempting to provoke a fight, and he insisted that their aim was to prevent residents from casting their ballots.
“They are small people we would have fought them back, but don’t fight them because that is what they want. They don’t want people to come to vote,” he said.
