Learning at Kenyatta University came to a standstill on Tuesday, October 21, after lecturers engaged in a heated altercation.
The altercation came shortly after the university management, through an internal memo from the Registrar (Academic) dated October 16, 2025, directed all students to resume classes amid the ongoing University lecturers’ strike.
According to the University Registrar, Prof Benard Kivunge, the directive followed a decision made by the University Senate during a meeting held on Wednesday, October 15, which resolved that all first-semester activities should continue.
“Following the decision of the University Senate on Wednesday, 15th October 2025, all activities for the First Semester, 2025/2026 Academic Year should continue to be undertaken as scheduled,” the memo read in part.
“All students are therefore required to resume their studies from the morning of Tuesday, October 21, 2025, without fail.”Chaos Erupts at Kenyatta University as Lecturers Exchange Blows Over Return to Class.However, the decision sparked tensions among lecturers. It is reported that one group that complied with the memo clashed with another group that opposed the directive, leading to a confrontation that disrupted learning.The confrontation turned physical as the defiant group stormed lecture halls, throwing out lecturers who were teaching and disrupting lessons and other the campus activities.Another lecturer was heard advising students to wait for official communication from the University Academic Staff Union (UASU) Secretary-General, Constantine Wasonga, or the Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU) Secretary-General, Charles Mukwaya.
She alleged that the university management was acting under pressure from the government to portray a false sense of normalcy.
“The management is under coercion from the government to make sure that things are working. This is a ploy by the government to keep you here and say that everything is working. But as you can see and hear, nothing is working at the university,” she said.
“As long as Wasonga hasn’t said the strike is done, or Mukwaya says the strike is over, you can be sure there are no classes that are going to take place. We are waiting for Wasonga and Mukwaya to call off the strike. We will not call off the strike.”
She further urged students to go home, telling them they could stay home and “watch TV until the national strike is officially called off.”
Lecturers List Three Demands
The strike, which began on September 17, 2025, has significantly disrupted the academic calendar across universities.UASU outlined three key grievances that remain unresolved despite a court directive. The directive states that the SRC should collaborate with the Inter-Public Universities’ Councils Consultative Forum (IPUCCF) Implementation Committee, the Ministry of Education, and the Treasury to provide for the additional budgetary allocation necessary for implementing the CBAs.
Among the listed grievances were:
Failure to implement the 2021-2025 Phase Two CBA arrears amounting to Ksh. 2.73 billion for the 2025/2026 financial year.
Failure to negotiate, conclude, register, and implement the 2025-2029 National CBA in line with the Recognition Agreement signed on October 28, 2019, between UASU and the IPUCCF.
Failure to implement the 2017-2021 CBA, despite rulings by the Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC CBA Nos. 1, 2, and 3 of 2020), which directed the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) to work with IPUCCF, the Ministry of Education, and the Treasury to provide the necessary budgetary allocation.
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