Lecturers’ strike grounds learning across public universities nationwide

By  Nation Team

Nation Media Group

Lecturers and non-academic staff in public universities on Friday grounded operations in various campuses across the country as their unions launched a nationwide strike to push for a better pay deal, among other demands.

A section of student leaders also threatened to mobilise students to join their lecturers in the strike if negotiations between the government and workers fail to unlock the impasse.

At Egerton University, the strike was led by the chapter secretary of the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) Dr Grace Kibue. She said that university workers should be paid from the Exchequer, and called for negotiations for a 2025 -2029 collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

The strike has been called by UASU and the Kenya University Staff Union (KUSU) and the Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Educational and Hospitals allied Workers (KUDHEHIA).

“We want to stress that university education is not a devolved function and as a public good, must be funded from the national kitty,” she said.

Dr Kibue observed that the UASU wants the negotiation of the CBA 2025/29 as well as total implementation of the previous CBA.

“We want the human resource instruments be renegotiated afresh since everything in it is contentious and the agreed items had been expunged before they were sneaked back,” said Dr Kibue.

KUSU Egerton Chapter chairperson Benjamin Ruto regretted that the lecturers had to down tools yet the issues they are raising can be dealt with amicably.

“We are not going to do anything until the issues raised by the lecturers are addressed. We know these are issues which the government can easily deal with and have the learning resume,” he said.

At Tom Mboya University, members of UASU accused their part-time colleagues of sabotaging their push for better pay and told them to keep off the institution during the ongoing strike.

"They are the final beneficiaries of our course yet they do not want to join the strike. We ask part-time lecturers from neighbouring universities to respect our collective action," said Dr Maurice Ndolo, the chapter secretary.

He said commitments made to university workers must be honoured and collective bargaining must produce timely and meaningful results.

UASU presented its demand proposal for the 2025-2029 CBA to the Employers' Negotiation Forum, including the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum (IPUCCF), in February this year, ahead of the expiry of the previous CBA on June 30 2026.

The proposal addressed salaries, allowances, pensions, research support, promotions, academic freedom and fair disciplinary procedures.

Following an earlier industrial dispute, the parties signed a return-to-work formula in November 2025, which was subsequently adopted as a court order. Clause 12 required IPUCCF and the three university unions to fast-track negotiations for the 2025-2029 CBAs and conclude them within 30 days.

"This delays our livelihoods, professional development and dignity. Our union exists to defend these shared interests through solidarity and collective responsibility," he said.

At Kisii University, lecturers and other workers protested at the university grounds.

Joshua Momanyi, the KUSU chapter chairperson, stated that they will not return to class until their demands are met.

"It doesn't matter if students go to class and teach themselves; we are okay with that, but our demands must be met first," he said.

At Maseno University, learning was also paralysed as lecturers and university staff joined the nationwide strike. Union officials urged students to rain calm and that once their grievances are acted upon, they would go back to class and recover the lost time.

Learning was paralysed, too, at Bomet University, Moi University and Maasai Mara University. “The government should not abandon university lecturers, but listen and act on the issues that we have put forward so that the impasse can be unlocked” said Dr Obala Musumba, the UASU Bomet University Chapter secretary-general. “We will be on strike as long as it takes. We will only return to the lecture halls to impart knowledge on the learners once the issues have been hammered out.”

A similar situation prevailed at the Maasai Mara University in Narok and University of Kabianga in Kericho county.

At Moi University, the University of Eldoret and various constituent colleges in the North Rift region the employees vowed not to resume duty until their grievances are resolved.

The lecturers accused the government of reneging on previous deals including recognition agreement executed in 2019 between UASU and the IPUCCF.

University student leaders also threatened to mobilise students to join lecturers in a strike if the government fails to resolve the dispute, raising fears of another major disruption to learning in public universities.

The student leaders who spoke the African University Students Leadership Conference at Moi University, said they would not stand by as lecturers downed tools, warning that students would be among the hardest hit if the dispute drags on.

The president of the Kenya Universities Students Organization (KUSO), Gerald Mukaria, said students were prepared to stand with their lecturers if the government failed to act.

“We request the ministry to honour UASU demands because we are going to mobilise our fellow students to join our lecturers in the strike. It’s so disappointing for students to continue staying on school premises without learning,” he said.

UASU also wants the government to protect lecturers’ public officer status and warned that all public universities could be closed if the dispute is not resolved.

For students, the threat comes at a particularly sensitive point in the academic calendar. The first semester of the 2026/2027 academic year is only about a month old, meaning a prolonged shutdown could disrupt teaching and examinations and potentially delay graduation for final-year students.

“It is so disappointing for comrades to pay rent and food, staying at the university when learning is not taking place,” said Joel Wafula, a student leader from Alupe University.

Staff in several universities across the Mt Kenya region also joined the strike, paralyzing operations. The workers are from Murang’a University of Technology, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology, University of Embu and Chuka.

Speaking during the demonstrations, Murang’a University of Technology UASU Chapter secretary Dr Stephen Njenga opposed proposals that would require universities to finance workers’ salaries from student fees.

Dr Njenga said relying heavily on student fees would disadvantage universities with relatively low enrolment and could affect their ability to meet salary obligations.

“Some students are already facing challenges paying their fees because of financial constraints. Universities cannot therefore depend entirely on fees to pay their workers,” he added.

Dr Njenga also criticized the Public Service Commission (PSC) over the development of generic human resource instruments for public universities saying university workers had not been adequately involved in the process.

He said the unions would continue pushing for the views of university employees to be incorporated before the instruments are adopted.

Dr Njenga said the unions would resist any move they believe could adversely affect the terms and conditions of service for academic staff.

Operations at Dedan Kimathi University of Technology (DeKUT) KUSU Branch chairperson Eric Gachoki said that the decision to strike was reached after months of fruitless engagement with both the Government and the University Management.

Locally, the union has accused the University Management of failing to pay salary arrears owed to staff from 2021 to 2025, despite the matter being raised repeatedly through the established dispute resolution mechanisms.

"This money is not a favour; it is a debt. Our members have gone for years without what is rightfully theirs, and the management has chosen to look the other way," he added.

The union further accused the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration and Finance) of intimidating and threatening staff for participating in the ongoing strike.

The KUSU DeKUT Branch called on the government to urgently return to the negotiating table, and on the university management to pay all outstanding arrears and stop victimising staff for exercising their lawful right to strike.

"We remain open to dialogue, but we will not be taken for granted. The strike shall continue until our demands are met," said the branch secretary.

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-Reporting by Emmanuel Ashindu, Ezra Nanjendo, Martin Mwaura, Mercy Mwende, David Muchui, Barnabas Bii, Joseph Openda, George Odiwuor, Judith Cherono, Ruth Mbula and Vitalis Kimutai