HELB is a statutory body in Kenya established under section 3 of the Higher Education Loans Board Act (“the HELB Act”) whose function include granting of loans to students, setting the criteria for loan repayment including rate of interest and formulate sound policies for regulating and management of the Fund.

Loans under HELB are not commercial but a social loan by Government intended to ensure that poor students access tertiary education. The loan helps to enact Article 43 of the CoK, 2010.

HELB received these monies from Government at no cost.

HOWEVER, it has become a habit for HELB and its agents to illegally invoke the much impugned section 52 (b) of the HELB Act to demand from loanees amounts exceeding twice what was loaned.

This is against the Judgement of Judge A. Mabeya of 19th August, 2022 which declared the said section unconstitutional.

By doing so, HELB does the following to loanees:-

1. Clearance certificates which many institutions require to offer employment. That is tantamount to denying them employment opportunities.

2. Using third party debt collectors who impose further debt collection charges that is loader on the loan amount and deducted every time you pay.

3. Listing them as defaulters with the credit reference bureau which denies them access to formal credit and leaving them to the mercy of shylocks whose interest is steep and unaffordable.

This petition is to ensure that HELB adheres to the High Court Order and re-calculate amounts owed to them by each loanee, factoring the amount each has paid.