After years of crippling strikes and campus shutdowns, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has declared that the era of public university strikes and street protests is over, at least until 2030.
Ogamba said the government and university unions have agreed to resolve all future disputes through structured dialogue, not demonstrations, following a new truce that ends months of industrial turmoil in the higher education sector.
“Recently, we had a few challenges in the higher education sector, and we sat down. We’ve agreed that we are no longer going to resolve our issues in the streets,” Ogamba said. “Negotiations for the 2025-2029 CBA are already underway, and if implemented, we will not have another strike until 2030.”
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The declaration follows the signing of a Ksh7.9 billion payout deal to settle arrears under the 2017-2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), a move that persuaded university lecturers and staff to call off their two-month strike.
The deal was reached between the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU), Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU), and the Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Educational Institutions, Hospitals & Allied Workers (KUDHEIHA).
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Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi said the government would clear the arrears in two instalments by June 2026, citing cash-flow challenges.
“The government is cash-strapped and cannot foot the entire Ksh7.9 billion at once,” Mbadi said, urging university staff to be patient as payments are phased out.
UASU Secretary General Constantine Wasonga confirmed that both parties also signed a framework for negotiating the 2025-2029 CBA, setting up a structured engagement system for the coming years.
As optimism builds, some education analysts warn that the new understanding could prove fragile if economic pressures mount or if CBA commitments are delayed once again.
By Mercy Kokwon
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