Low-income settlers seek urgent court intervention over loan interest waiver

Low-income settlers drawn from more than 520 settlement schemes across the country have moved to the High Court seeking urgent intervention to compel the government to implement a Cabinet resolution waiving interest and penalties on settlement scheme loans.

In an application filed by Sheria Mtaani and lawyer Shadrack Wambui, the petitioners argue that despite a Cabinet resolution adopted on November 11, 2025, settlers continue to accrue interest and penalties on loans advanced by the State, effectively defeating the purpose of the announced relief.

The application is directed against the Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service, the Cabinet Secretary for Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development, and the Principal Secretary in the State Department for Lands and Physical Planning.

The Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Economic Planning has been listed as an interested party.

According to court documents, the Cabinet resolved to waive accrued and accruing interest on loans taken by low-income settlers in more than 520 settlement schemes spread across 26 counties.

The decision, the petitioners say, was intended to allow settlers to offset their loans, regain economic stability, and potentially resettle elsewhere in line with the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.

However, the petitioners contend that the resolution has not been implemented, with the responsible State agencies failing to operationalise it.

As a result, settlers are allegedly continuing to incur penalties and interest, plunging already vulnerable households into deeper financial distress.

“Should the prayers sought herein not be granted, the low-income settlers in the over 520 settlement schemes spread across the country will continue to suffer prejudice and keep paying accruing penalties and interest on the settlement scheme loans, against the backdrop of the waiver,” the lawyers argue in the application.

The applicants are seeking certification of the matter as extremely urgent, urging the court to hear it on a priority basis.

They argue that no prejudice will be suffered by the respondents or the interested party if the court issues interim orders compelling implementation of the waiver.

Among the reliefs sought is an order compelling the respondents to immediately implement the Cabinet resolution as contained in the Cabinet News dated November 11, 2025, pending the hearing and determination of the case.

They also want the court to declare the waiver legal and enforceable as an order of the court.

In addition, the applicants have asked the court to direct the decentralisation of the National Land Commission to establish off-post branches in counties, particularly in remote areas, to ease access to land services and reduce the need for citizens to travel to Nairobi’s Ardhi House.

They further seek orders compelling the State to refund any low-income settlers who may have paid interest and penalties after the lapse of the period within which the Cabinet resolution ought to have been implemented.

The petitioners argue that the High Court is best placed to restore the dignity, hope, and proprietary rights of low-income settlers by enforcing the Cabinet decision and preventing further financial harm.

The High Court is expected to hear the matter.