Lecturers and other staff at Kenya’s public universities began a strike on Friday 2 October 2026 over a stalled collective bargaining agreement (CBA) for 2025-2029. As of the latest reports found, dated 8 October, no deal had been announced. Three large sums keep appearing in the dispute, and they describe different things.
How the Kenya university strike started
The lecturers’ union UASU issued a seven-day strike notice, The Star reported on 24 September. Talks between the three unions and the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum (IPUCCF) collapsed at Machakos University on Thursday 1 October, and the unions rejected the forum’s counter-offer, according to Nation.
The strike began on Friday 2 October. UASU, KUSU and KUDHEIHA are involved, and teaching halted at public universities including Egerton and Tom Mboya, Nation reported.
The three figures, side by side
| Figure | Who stated it | What it covers | What it is not |
|---|---|---|---|
| Over Sh100bn | Prof Daniel Mugendi, chair of the Vice-Chancellors’ Committee of Public Universities, to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (Nation, 26 September) | Funding vice-chancellors say the state has not fully remitted since the Student-Centred Funding Model began | A pay offer or CBA cost. SRC said CBA funds would come from the National Treasury (Nation) |
| About Sh72bn | Treasury 2026/27 budget estimates, reported by Eastleigh Voice on 17 June | HELB loans (Sh56.3bn allocated, Sh112.1bn needed) plus Universities Fund scholarships (Sh31.1bn, Sh47.36bn needed); about 689,000 students affected | Not a CBA cost or the Sh100bn arrears |
| Sh9.76bn | UASU’s Constantine Wasonga, describing an allocation the government was expected to table | The allocation expected for the CBA | A confirmed government offer |
Wasonga, UASU’s secretary-general, said the 2021-2025 CBA cost Sh9.7bn over two years and that “A CBA of four years cannot consume Sh9.76 billion,” The Star reported.
Mugendi described an “outstanding amount presently standing at over Sh100 billion” and the universities say they cannot fund the lecturers’ CBA demands, Nation reported on 26 September. The SRC responded that CBA funds would come from the National Treasury through the student-centred funding model, Nation reported. The reports read do not show the Treasury or Education Ministry addressing the figure.
The Sh72bn is the sum of two gaps in the 2026/27 estimates: Sh55.8bn for HELB loans and Sh16.26bn for scholarships. Our June report on Kenya’s proposed national budget covers the wider spending plan.
What was offered and what the unions want
According to Nation, the IPUCCF offer was an 8.25% cumulative rise in basic salary over 2025-2029 (about 2% a year), a 3% rise in house allowance and proposed medical benefits. The unions want basic pay increases of:
UASU: 36-68%. KUSU: 36-113%. KUDHEIHA: 75-193%.
Reports differ on the offer. Citizen Digital described it as 4%, and UASU’s Jacob Musembi, quoted in Nation, called the proposed “automatic annual increment of a mere four percent” below inflation of more than six percent. Nation’s own figures say 8.25% cumulative. The difference is not reconciled in the reports found.
Nation’s report on the talks lists further UASU demands: a 57% increase in house allowance, a commuter allowance of up to Sh60,000 for grades 14A and 15A, and an Sh80,000 professorial allowance. The Star reported that UASU also wants salaries paid from the Exchequer rather than student fees.
Timeline: from the 2025 strike to now
Mid-September to 5 November 2025: a 49-day strike across 42 public universities, which ended with a deal on Sh7.9bn in arrears in two tranches, Sh3.8bn in November-December 2025 and the balance by July 2026, according to The Star. 5 November 2025: Capital FM reported a return-to-work formula to be filed at the Employment and Labour Relations Court as a consent settlement: no victimisation, Sh2.73bn of phase-two arrears under the 2021-2025 CBA marked settled pending verification, a 30-day fast track for the 2025-2029 CBA, and recovery of seven weeks of lost teaching time. Nation reported on 2 October that the formula had been adopted as a court order, with Clause 12 requiring the CBA to be concluded within 30 days. The unions say it was not honoured, according to Citizen Digital.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said on 5 October that all arrears under the 2017-2021 and 2021-2025 CBAs had been cleared, and urged lecturers to return to work, Kenyans.co.ke reported. We could not independently verify either his claim or the unions’ claim, and the reports read do not identify a 2026 court order.
The 8 October talks
Joint talks were scheduled for 10:00 AM (EAT) on Thursday 8 October at the Ministry of Labour offices in the NSSF building, with senior officials from the Education, Treasury, Public Service and Labour ministries and the Attorney-General’s office, Nation reported.
They ended without a deal, Nation reported. Wasonga said the committee chair would present the position to government, which would consult and give a counter-offer. KUSU’s Charles Mukhwaya called it “Miniature progress; nothing to write home about.”
What it means for students and parents
Higher Education Principal Secretary Beatrice Inyangala declined to give a return date, saying: “I would rather give students an honest answer than announce a date for the sake of making headlines.” No resumption date had been announced in the reports found. Students waiting to join are covered in our post on the KUCCPS 2026/2027 placement results.
What happens next
Whether the government gives the counter-offer Wasonga said would follow its consultations. Whether joint talks resume. The latest reports found are dated 8 October, so the position since then is unconfirmed. Whether the Treasury or Education Ministry addresses the Sh100bn claim and the unions’ claim that the November 2025 deal was not honoured.
