The Head of Presidential Special Projects & Creative Economy, Dennis Itumbi, on August 28 shared a detailed breakdown of how President William Ruto repaid his Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) loan, which he received while a student at the University of Nairobi (UoN).
Itumbi provided the details after Ruto disclosed during a Town Hall meeting on August 25 at KICC, Nairobi, that he had also taken out a HELB loan.
According to the loan statement, Ruto received Ksh55,440, which accrued interest of Ksh13,606.50.
Ruto’s loan reference number was 6847208, and his last payment point was through the National Assembly, reference code 28081.
He began repaying the loan in July 2001, at which time his balance was Ksh69,046.
Between July 2001 and October 2002, Ruto paid Ksh2,797 to service his HELB loan, reducing the balance from Ksh66,067.50 in 2001 to Ksh22,518.00 by October 2002.
From May 2003 to August 2003, Ruto paid Ksh7,824.00 to HELB, further reducing his loan from Ksh22,518 to Ksh8,479.90.
By September 2005, his balance stood at Ksh4.10, and he completed paying off the loan in 2015.
Ruto Talks of Paying His HELB Loan
During the Town Hall meeting, Ruto defended the new funding model, stating that its components have existed since his time in university.
He clarified that the loan aspect and the division of students into bands were part of the old funding model.
“There has always been banding; it didn’t start with this model. I know there is a push to suggest that this banding started with this model. It didn’t. It has always been there. All we did was, instead of having four bands, we made it five. We have reasons for that,” Ruto explained.
The President noted that the loan component was already in place when he joined university in 1987.
He shared that he received a loan of Ksh55,000 and paid it back with 2% interest. Ruto said he began repaying his loan after being elected as a Member of Parliament (MP).
“The statistics are there with HELB. I paid my loan facility with interest, so I paid Ksh69,000. In fact, I began repaying my loan when I got my first salaried job as an MP,” Ruto said.
“So, the loan component is not a new thing; it is what has always been there. It is what makes the model sustainable.”
Also Read: Indicators Govt Used to Categorize Students in Bands & What to Consider When Appealing
Kenyans Question Authenticity of the Statement
The statement sparked a debate on X, with some users questioning the authenticity of the document.
An X user named Kanairow noted that the President began repaying his loan ten years after graduating, yet he expects students to start repayment a year after finishing school.
“He graduated in 1990 and started paying in 2001, that’s 10 years without payment. He wasn’t penalized Ksh5000 a month for not finding a job, but he expects actual hustlers to pay in the first year after graduating. Wow,” Kanairow wrote.
Another user, Gwa Gif, questioned why the document showed that Ruto started servicing his loan in 2001 when he claimed he began repayment immediately after becoming an MP in 1997.
“Ruto said he paid his loan plus interest when he got his first job in 1997, but you didn’t remember that while editing,” Gwa Gif said.
Also Read: HEF: Step by Step Process of Appealing for Scholarship Category Change
The user also asked Itumbi to explain how he gains access to people’s personal information.
He recalled when Itumbi posted Jimi Wanjigi’s firearm letter before the businessman did and noted that now he has the President’s loan statement.
“And if I may ask, how do you get personal information of Kenyans? The other time, you received Jimi’s firearm letter before him, and now you have Ruto’s HELB statement. How do you get this personal information without their permission?” the user asked.
Others also claimed that the statement was generated using ChatGPT.
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