Moi Lecturers Widen Strike Over Pay
the government dissolved its erstwhile council and installed a new one in a bid to restore normality to the institution. With lecturers though still demanding
UASU Eldoret Branch Secretary-General Dr. Busolo Wekesa affirmed that even with negotiations with the employer, workers were not content with what had been tabled
By Mercy Chelangat
Study at Moi University remains in suspense after more than 900 lecturers rejected a fresh proposal by the university council on Monday 25th August 2025 as insufficient. The lecturers, who are organized under the Universities’ Academic Staff Union (UASU), began strike action on August 20, 2025, calling for payment of arrears in salary, pension, and firm compliance with a return-to-work agreement signed in November 2024.
UASU Eldoret Branch Secretary-General Dr. Busolo Wekesa affirmed that even with negotiations with the employer, workers were not content with what had been tabled.
“We have seen the proposals and are negotiating with the employer, but the members thus far have expressed that it is not sufficient and will not sign unless they get a better one,” said Dr. Wekesa.
He pointed out that the lecturers were yet to consider proposals presented by the council before they took a step towards what to do next.
Lecturers blame management for inciting broken promises
UASU Moi University Chairman, Richard Kero, condemned the university administration for inciting broken promises, which had put most of the employees into financial problems.
Some of our members are suffering due to the debt burden that has seen them appear on the Credit Reference Bureau (CRB). Others return home without a pension. The university has disappointed us,” Kero said.
The union is demanding payment of June and July 2025 salaries as per the 2021–2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). They are also demanding the fulfillment of provisions on promotions of staff, retirement age, and statutory remittances.
Details of Sh8.6B deal
The November 2024 return-to-work agreement, which had Higher Education Principal Secretary Dr. Beatrice Inyangala present, involved Sh8.6 billion for arrears payment and staff welfare upgrade. These comprised:
⦁ Sh500 million cash release upfront,
⦁ Sh2.1 billion worth of land properties in Kitale, Nairobi, and Mombasa,
⦁ Budgetary provisions of Sh1.25B (2025/26), Sh3.3B (2026/27), and Sh1.75B (2027/28),
⦁ To cater for pensions, repayment of bank loans, a benevolence fund, welfare, group life assurance, and union membership.
Although the Treasury opened Sh500 million at the beginning of this year, UASU contests that lecturers have yet to reap gains from the funds.
“We are not requesting pay rises — just what belongs to us in line with the signed agreement,” Dr. Wekesa protested, adding that lecturers have been without medical cover for three months due to non-remittances to the Social Health Authority (SHA).
University caves in to crisis, mulls retrenchment
Acting Vice-Chancellor Prof. Kiplagat Kotut admitted the university is in a serious financial crisis, adding that there has been an increase in wage bills and declining revenues.
We are looking at a number of options, including possible retrenchment of staff, to address the rising wage bill,” he added, as union officials were called to another meeting on Friday to try and sort out the matter.
Moi University’s fate is in the balance
Moi University, the leader among the public institutions, has been laid to waste by decades of embezzlement of funds. In January 2025, the government dissolved its erstwhile council and installed a new one in a bid to restore normality to the institution. With lecturers though still demanding and the students hanging in balance, the stalemate now threatens to drive academic operations into further free fall and further tarnish the reputation of the university.
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