Dennis Itumbi, recently appointed as the head of Creative Economy and Special Projects in the President's Executive Office, has come under fire from Kenyans online.
The controversy arose after Itumbi shared what he claimed was proof that President William Ruto had repaid his Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) loan, following the president’s own statements about his experience with the loan scheme.
Ruto’s HELB repayment story
During a Town Hall meeting at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) on Sunday, August 25, 2025, President Ruto shared a personal anecdote about his time as a university student.
READ: 7 changes making new higher education funding system different from previous one
Ruto recalled that he took out a HELB loan of Sh55,000 to fund his university education in 1987. He mentioned that, as with all loans, there was an interest rate of 2%, which brought the total amount owed to Sh69,000.
The president went on to say that he repaid the loan with his first salary after becoming a Member of Parliament.
“I went to university in 1987 as a fresher, and I had a loan just like you do. My loan was Sh55,000 with an interest of 2%. The statistics are there with HELB. I paid my loan of Sh69,000 with my first salary job as a Member of Parliament,” Ruto stated.
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Itumbi’s evidence sparks controversy
Following the president’s remarks, Dennis Itumbi took to his X account to post what he described as evidence that President Ruto had indeed cleared his HELB loan.
Itumbi shared a photo of a document bearing the HELB logo, which he claimed was the president’s loan statement. According to the document, Ruto began repaying his loan in July 2001 and completed the payments in December 2015.
Itumbi captioned the image with a message urging media outlets to focus on reporting facts, suggesting that this document served as proof of the president’s transparency regarding his loan repayment.
Mixed reactions after Itumbi shares Ruto's HELB repayment document
The release of the document immediately sparked mixed reactions from Kenyans online. While some netizens expressed support for Itumbi’s effort to provide transparency, others were highly sceptical about the authenticity of the document.
Several social media users pointed out discrepancies in the document’s details, questioning its legitimacy.
Others accused Itumbi of trying to manipulate public opinion by presenting what they saw as dubious evidence.
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The new higher education funding model
Kenya's higher education landscape has undergone significant changes by introducing a new university financing model by the Ministry of Education.
The new scholarship model caters to a broader range of students, including those enrolled in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutes..
To qualify, students must be Kenyan nationals who have completed their Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams from 2022 onwards and have been placed by KUCCPS.
Moreover, students must apply for the Higher Education Government Student Scholarship each year through the Higher Education Financing (HEF) portal to ensure that their financial needs are reassessed annually.
The model also introduces a structured combination of scholarships and loans, tailored to the student's level of need. For example, vulnerable students receive 82% of their funding as a scholarship and 18% as a loan.