The committee has scheduled November 5th to hear from the lenders implicated in a petition filed by several boda boda riders National Assembly Finance and National Planning Committee chairperson Kimani Kuria /FILE MPs are investigating 110 complaints against lenders accused of charging borrowers’ interest that exceeds the original loan amount, with some cases involving payments of up to four times the principal.
The National Assembly Finance and National Planning Committee will summon asset finance companies accused of imposing excessive interest charges on customers, amid growing concerns over lending practices in Kenya’s credit market. Committee chairperson Kimani Kuria said lawmakers had received 110 cases involving alleged predatory lending, including complaints of borrowers paying two to four times the original loan amount without clear disclosure of the terms of credit.
The committee has scheduled November 5 th to hear from the lenders implicated in a petition filed by several boda boda riders. “We have continuously, since the start of this inquiry, received numerous other complaints where there is no disclosure of the loan amount, and some customers have paid even three or four times the loan amount,” Kuria said.
He warned that failure to honour the November invitation could force the committee to invoke Standing Order 191 of the National Assembly to issue formal summons. The inquiry comes amid concerns over the enforcement of lending rules introduced under the Business Laws (Amendment) Act, 2024, which brought previously unregulated non-deposit-taking credit providers under the Central Bank of Kenya’s regulatory oversight.
Kuria said the law was intended to strengthen oversight of non-bank lenders and curb practices that leave borrowers trapped in expensive credit arrangements. One of the principles he cited was the in-duplum rule, which limits the interest recoverable on qualifying non-performing loans to the outstanding principal amount when the loan becomes non-performing.
Despite the regulatory changes, the committee says it continues to receive complaints of interest charges that substantially exceed the original amounts borrowed.