Students wait to make applications for loans at the Helb headquarters in Nairobi. /FILEFormer university students are voicing frustration over ballooning penalties on Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) debts, saying the mounting charges are making repayment impossible amid widespread unemployment and low wages.
Many say they have not deliberately refused to repay, but years without stable income have left them unable to clear the loans.
Even those in employment lament that their meagre salaries make little impact on reducing penalties.
“I just saw the amount of money I owe to Helb. Paid some part of the loan, and it is about the amount I was loaned,” one former beneficiary wrote on X.
Another, who said they borrowed Sh140,000, claimed the debt has grown to Sh350,566 despite being jobless for a decade.
“I don’t think I will ever be able to repay that. Waniue basi,” he lamented.
Others have taken a defiant tone.
“Can’t pay, won’t pay. Hadi ile siku kutakuwa na waiver ya penalties. Ain’t no way I’m paying over 500k for a loan that didn’t amount to 150k,” one posted.
However, some, like Mwaka Kelvin, urged those able to pay to do so to sustain the fund.
“Walio na uwezo walipe zisaidie wengine. Zilinisaidia sana, so nitasaidia wengine wapate. Imagine kama hungepata, mambo ingekuwaje?” he wrote.
(Those who have the means should pay to help others. They helped me a lot, so I will help others get the same. Imagine if you hadn’t received it, how would things have been?)
According to Helb, as of June 30, 2025, only 67.5 per cent of the loan book was performing, while 32 per cent — amounting to Sh32 billion owed by about 256,000 beneficiaries — is at risk.
Another graduate questioned whether Helb’s charges were in breach of the duplum rule, which caps total repayable interest at twice the principal loan.
“By the time I was graduating, the total loan was 177k. I see that at some point it rose to over 800k. Shouldn’t the total repayable be a max of circa 350 given the duplum rule?”
Others cited frustrations with communication. “Yangu nimekuwa nikilipa but haisongi,” a borrower complained.
Another graduate from the class of 2022 said their debt has soared to Sh270,000.
“No job, so I can’t pay but interest wanaongeza kila siku. At this rate, by 2030 itakuwa 1m,” they wrote.
Helb CEO Geoffrey Monari said the agency is employing various strategies to encourage repayment, including employer engagement, outreach to past beneficiaries, smarter policies and stronger accountability.
“We’ve mobilised Sh3.3 billion from 43 partners, including counties, corporates and development partners,” he said.
To ease repayment, Helb is allowing instalments and offering an 80 per cent penalty waiver for lump-sum clearance.
“A meaningful step toward encouraging repayment and easing the burden,” Monari said.
Despite these measures, many former students say without jobs or with stagnant incomes, the relief remains out of reach — and the penalties keep piling up.
