University lecturers across Kenya have gone on strike, defying a government payout aimed at averting the industrial action.
The Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) announced the walkout on Wednesday, with staff at the University of Nairobi and Maseno University among the first to down tools. The strike comes despite the Treasury releasing Ksh.2.5 billion to fund the second phase of the 2021–2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
Union officials say the payment is too little, too late. They accuse the government of ignoring court rulings and leaving billions in arrears unsettled.
“Members of staff have been reduced to beggars,” said Dr Maloba Wekesa, UASU secretary at the University of Nairobi. “Phase Two was meant to have been paid months ago. We gave the government seven days to act after a three-month delay, and still nothing.”
Wekesa added that the government owes lecturers Ksh.7.9 billion from the 2017 CBA, a figure that courts have already affirmed. “The courts said go ahead and implement. On March 25th this year, they ruled in our favour. Since then, it has been crickets, silence,” he said.
At Moi University, UASU’s acting secretary general, Dr Dan Mukhwana, echoed the frustration. “Our CBA of four years ago has not been implemented. If that money isn’t paid, we are not returning to classes,” he told reporters.
The Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU) has also backed the strike. Its Nairobi branch secretary, Peter Waita, said lecturers would not relent until all CBAs are honoured. “The government continues to neglect workers. They must implement the 2017–2021 and 2022–2025 agreements, and begin talks for the next cycle,” he said.
The Treasury has defended its efforts, pointing to the Ksh.2.5 billion already released. Officials argue the payout demonstrates goodwill and commitment to addressing lecturers’ concerns.
But lecturers insist the government has broken promises before. They cite long delays in past agreements, denied increments, and inadequate health cover for staff.
The strike has quickly spread beyond Nairobi, with Egerton and Kisii universities also joining in. The disruption threatens to paralyse teaching and examinations in public universities nationwide.
For now, both sides appear entrenched. Lecturers say only the full settlement of arrears and a clear plan for future CBAs will bring them back to class. The government, facing a growing budget squeeze, insists it is already meeting its obligations.
The standoff leaves thousands of students caught in the middle, uncertain when — or if — lectures will resume.
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