University education halted due to striking faculty and lecturers protesting over unpaid salaries
Public university lecturers in Kenya have embarked on a nationwide strike, demanding the release of Sh8.8 billion in arrears from the 2017-2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and the commencement of negotiations for the 2025-2029 CBA. The strike, which started on Wednesday, affects all public universities and their constituent colleges. Lecturers at Murang'a University of Technology (MUT) and the Technical University of Mombasa (TUM) are among those who have joined the industrial action, demanding their share of the Sh8.8 billion. At MUT, lecturers are demanding Sh7.9 billion, while at TUM, Sh2.73 billion allocated for the current phase has not been released. The union officials, including UASU Secretary Boniface Isalambo, have warned that if the government does not release all the funds by Monday next week, students will be sent home indefinitely. The strike threatens to disrupt graduations and stall the completion of the semester. Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has appealed to the unions to reconsider their position and withdraw the strike notice. However, his appeal has been dismissed by UASU Secretary Boniface Isalambo, who accused the government of playing "cat-and-mouse" with university staff. The union officials maintain that the industrial action will continue until the money is reflected in lecturers' accounts. At DeKUT, lecturers have threatened to escalate the strike if grievances dating back nearly a decade are not addressed. UASU DeKUT chapter secretary Rev Anthony Mutuiri accused the institution of deliberately underpaying staff by placing them on a lower horizontal salary scale instead of the agreed diagonal scale. In Maasai Mara University in Narok, learning was paralysed as academic and non-teaching employees staged a peaceful march in protest. Students have threatened to hold demonstrations in solidarity with their lecturers. UASU branch secretary Dr Stephen Njenga stated that the Sh2 billion reportedly released by the Treasury to settle part of lecturers' salary arrears has not reflected in members' accounts. The government has been accused of disregarding both last year's return-to-work formula and a March 28 Court of Appeal ruling that directed the arrears be paid in full at TUM.
