Kenya’s public universities are on the brink of a nationwide shutdown after the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) issued a seven-day strike notice over a stalled Collective Bargaining Agreement.


Lecturers will down tools from midnight on Friday, October 2, 2026, unless the government resolves long-standing pay and funding disputes. The notice, issued on September 24, follows months of stalled talks on the 2025–2029 CBA.


UASU Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga accused university councils, the Ministry of Education and the National Treasury of failing to honour a Return-to-Work Formula signed in November 2025. The union says the government has also failed to provide a financial counter-proposal.


At the heart of the dispute is funding. The Salaries and Remuneration Commission recently informed unions that neither the Ministry nor the Treasury has committed to financing the CBA through the National Exchequer. UASU is demanding that commitment, rejecting any plan that would tie lecturers’ pay to student fees.


The timing is critical. Universities are just starting the 2026 academic year. A strike would disrupt teaching, exams and registration for both new and continuing students.


The government now has one week to act — or face a full-scale industrial action across public universities.