The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has announced plans to disclose the identities and photographs of 85,000 student loan defaulters who owe Ksh50 billion, citing financial constraints that threaten its ability to fund new borrowers.
The board stated it will publish the names and images of delinquent borrowers within 30 days, followed by a one-month grace period for them to justify their non-payment. Failure to settle outstanding debts would trigger legal action, according to the statement.
HELB emphasized that delayed repayments hinder its capacity to support current students, as funds from loan repayments are critical for sustaining operations. The board’s communication highlighted that "sustained default hinders funding of other deserving Kenyan youth."
A Twitter user, Lord Abraham Mutai, responded to the threat by warning HELB of potential legal consequences: "Publish my name and photo then we shall talk about data breach and privacy in court. You don’t know people. You should be giving us waivers not threats of publishing our images and names." The message was posted on November 18, 2019.
This approach mirrors past efforts by the government to recover loans. In 2018, HELB recovered over Ksh500 million through a two-month amnesty program. Earlier in 2019, former Education Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed had threatened to involve law enforcement to track employed defaulters.
Since its establishment in 1974, HELB has disbursed more than Ksh72 billion to 645,000 Kenyans, easing access to higher education. The current campaign reflects ongoing challenges in loan recovery amid broader fiscal pressures.
