Buzeki Blasts Government Over HELB Crisis: “UDA is Killing the Dreams of Poor Students”

Prominent businessman and former Uasin Gishu gubernatorial aspirant Zedekiah Bundotich, popularly known as Buzeki, has issued a scathing statement condemning the government's handling of the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) crisis, accusing the UDA administration of “destroying the dreams of poor students.”

In a strongly worded address shared on Monday, Buzeki called out the national government for what he termed as "gross neglect of the education sector," highlighting the alarming number of university and TVET students at risk of dropping out due to underfunding.

“More than 1 million students applied for HELB support this year. But only 713,000 received assistance. That means over **324,000 young Kenyans — mostly from poor families — were left out in the cold,” said Buzeki.

According to data cited by Buzeki, HELB required KSh 48 billion to fund all qualifying applicants, but the government only released KSh 26 billion, leaving a deficit of KSh 22 billion.

“Where did the KSh 22 billion go?” he questioned. “How can we talk about a digital, industrial, or knowledge economy when we can’t even keep our students in school?”

Buzeki criticized the allocation of as little as KSh 8,000 to some students, a figure he says is "a cruel joke" in the face of rising tuition, accommodation, and upkeep costs. He noted that many students are being kicked out of hostels, missing classes, and even exams due to unpaid fees.

“Over 100,000 university students and 60,000 TVET students are at risk of dropping out. These are not statistics — these are our children, our future,” he said.

The former gubernatorial aspirant took aim at the political leadership for ignoring the crisis, focusing instead on divisive rhetoric and populist pronouncements.

“While leaders are busy handing out tokens, chanting about ‘shoot to kill’ and ‘tutaiba kura’, our children are sleeping hungry. This is not just bad governance — it’s moral failure,” Buzeki lamented.

He urged the government to urgently re-prioritize funding for education and warned that failure to invest in the youth is a direct threat to the country’s future.“If UDA continues on this path, it will leave behind a broken generation. The HELB crisis is not just an education issue — it is a national emergency,” he said.

“We must rise, speak, and act. The dreams of our children cannot be sacrificed at the altar of political games.”