The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has come out to dismiss reports circulating online claiming it plans to freeze the bank accounts of over 316,000 graduates who defaulted on their student loans.
In an update on Sunday, June 8, HELB termed the reports as false and urged the public not to fall victim to misinformation.
"Relax, your bank account is safe! That viral post saying HELB is freezing accounts? Pure fiction and misinformation! Let’s not stress over fake news. Check HELB’s official page for the real tea," the agency said.
This clarification comes in response to a widely circulated social media post claiming that HELB would recover up to Ksh35 billion by freezing accounts of defaulters, pending parliamentary approval.
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This comes months after the Financial Inclusion Fund (Hustler Fund) acting CEO Elizabeth Nkukuu said the government was planning to raid MPesa accounts of Kenyans who are yet to repay Ksh7 billion to the Hustler Fund.
Appearing before the National Assembly’s Special Funds Account Committee on October 2, 2024, she said that the deductions would also be made when the defaulters of Hustler Fund load airtime to their phones.
Nkukuu explained that the Government had reached a dead-end in their recovery bid, adding that 13 million Kenyans have borrowed from Hustler and have refused to pay back.
“What we are looking at is to get money from their MPesa or airtime, we are in the process of considering appropriate legal provisions. The beauty of this Fund is that we have the phone numbers and the unique identifiers of the defaulters, the national ID. They are people of means, they are people who just don’t want to repay,” she said.
The government later said the plan is within the law.
In a statement, State Department for MSME's and Development PS Susan Mang'eni said the recovery measures will strictly adhere to data protection laws.
"The default recovery measures under consideration will be in line with laws of Kenya and particularly in strict adherence to data protection laws. The Hustler Fund Service providers partners' role remain provision of technology.
"We wish to assure Kenyans that the government remains committed to the adherence of data protection laws and the default recovery measures will be within the law," the statement read in part.
