- Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology has disowned a viral memo claiming the university will close by October 2.
- UASU announced a seven-day nationwide lecturers’ strike from midnight on October 2 over the unimplemented Return-to-Work Formula and the delayed 2025-2029 CBA.
- MMUST has urged students and staff to rely on official communication channels for updates on academic activities.
Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) has rejected a viral notice claiming the institution will shut down academic activities this week, as a nationwide lecturers’ strike threat places public universities on edge.
The university has described the circulating notice as fake, warning students and staff against acting on information that has not been issued through official institutional channels.
The forged memo, dated September 28, purported to originate from the Office of the Registrar, Academic Affairs, and instructed students to leave the university by Friday, October 2.
It further directed students to secure their personal belongings, travel home and wait for official communication on when academic activities would resume.
MMUST has disowned the communication, stating that the purported shutdown notice does not represent an official university decision.
The clarification comes as universities prepare for possible disruption arising from an industrial dispute involving lecturers.
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The Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) has announced a seven-day nationwide strike beginning at midnight on Friday, October 2, after negotiations with the government failed to resolve several outstanding issues.
UASU announced the planned industrial action on September 24, citing failure by university councils, the Ministry of Education and the National Treasury to honour the Return-to-Work Formula signed on November 5, 2025.
The union has also raised concerns over the delayed conclusion of the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), particularly the absence of a financial counter-proposal from the government.
UASU Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga has said negotiations for university academic staff have lagged behind those involving other public-sector employees whose CBAs for the same period have already been concluded.
If no agreement is reached, the strike could affect lectures and other academic activities in public universities.
At MMUST, the management has stated that a threatened lecturers’ strike is not an announcement that the university has closed.
Students have been advised to confirm the university’s position on lectures, examinations, accommodation and the academic calendar through its recognised communication channels.
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With the strike deadline approaching, attention is on negotiations between the government and UASU on the outstanding CBA and return-to-work issues.
Until then, students at MMUST and other public universities face a fake closure notice that the university has rejected, and a lecturers’ strike threat whose outcome remains dependent on negotiations.
By Hillary Muhalya
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