- President William Ruto has called for last-minute dialogue with UASU as the union’s October 2 strike deadline arrives.
- UASU has rejected a proposed Sh9.76 billion CBA allocation, demanding full negotiation, signing and implementation of the 2025–2029 agreement.
- Students and universities have been placed on alert over possible disruption to lectures and examinations as the Government works to translate Ruto’s call into concrete negotiations.
Kenya’s public universities have entered a tense new chapter as lecturers reach their October 2 strike deadline, President William Ruto calls for dialogue, and thousands of students face uncertainty over lectures and examinations.
Friday has arrived as the long-running standoff between the Government and the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) moves from warnings to a potential nationwide shutdown of teaching services.
But just as the strike deadline lands, President William Ruto has reopened the door to negotiations, saying the Government will engage academic staff and seek solutions to grievances that have accumulated over the years. The President said many of the concerns raised by lecturers are longstanding and can be addressed through dialogue, while some may require changes to existing laws.
That intervention has placed negotiations at the centre of the dispute once again, though whether the latest call for talks can prevent disruption now depends on what happens around the negotiating table.
UASU Secretary-General Dr Constantine Wasonga has maintained that the union exhausted several avenues of engagement before announcing the strike. The union is demanding that the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) be negotiated, signed and implemented, with the necessary funding guaranteed through the National Exchequer.
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The Money Fight
At the heart of the dispute is funding. UASU has rejected a proposed Sh9.76 billion allocation for implementation of the CBA, arguing that the four-year agreement contains demands that go beyond the previous arrangement. The union has raised issues including the harmonisation of allowances, car loans and mortgage benefits.
The disagreement, however, stretches far beyond the proposed salary package. Lecturers have also pointed to staffing shortages, university financing, pension obligations, medical cover and concerns over universities increasingly depending on student-generated revenue to finance their operations. The dispute has therefore evolved into a broader question about how Kenya intends to fund and sustain its public university system.
For thousands of students, however, the policy and financial arguments have an immediate consequence. A withdrawal of teaching services could affect lectures, assessments and other academic programmes as universities settle into the 2026 academic year. The prospect of another disruption has put students, parents and university administrators on alert.
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The Government now has to translate President Ruto’s call for dialogue into concrete negotiations capable of addressing the outstanding grievances. UASU, meanwhile, has signalled that it wants tangible progress rather than another cycle of meetings without an agreement.
The October 2 deadline has therefore become more than a date on the union’s calendar. It is now a test of whether dialogue can reopen a path towards a negotiated settlement, or whether Kenya’s public universities will experience another major interruption of academic activities.
By Hillary Muhalya
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