Reported by Mustapha Omolabake Omowumi, Managing Editor | Sele Media Malawi.
HOMA BAY, Kenya — The Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) chapter at Tom Mboya University has issued a stern warning to part-time lecturers from neighbouring universities against entering the institution to teach or replace lecturers participating in the ongoing nationwide university strike.
The warning came as lecturers across Kenya’s public universities began industrial action on October 2, 2026, in a dispute centred largely on the delayed conclusion, registration and implementation of the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
At Tom Mboya University in Homa Bay County, UASU officials said the institution’s teaching and learning activities would remain disrupted as academic staff press their demands, while urging part-time lecturers not to take over classes vacated by striking staff.
The position was publicly articulated by Maurice Ndolo, the UASU chapter official at Tom Mboya University, during the launch of the strike at the institution. According to reports by The Standard and Daily Nation, Ndolo said the union considered the use of part-time lecturers to continue teaching during the strike a threat to the effectiveness of the industrial action.
UASU’s warning adds a local dimension to a national labour dispute that has already disrupted academic activities in public universities across Kenya.
UASU demands implementation of 2025–2029 CBA
The central issue behind the current strike is the prolonged dispute over the 2025–2029 CBA.
UASU has maintained that negotiations over the new agreement have not produced the outcome required to conclude and implement the next four-year collective bargaining framework for university academic staff.
The union’s position is that the agreement should be properly negotiated, concluded, registered and implemented, with the government providing the necessary financial commitment to support the obligations arising from it.
Before the strike began, UASU issued a seven-day strike notice on September 24, 2026, warning that its members would withdraw their labour from October 2 if the outstanding issues were not addressed.
Daily Nation reported that UASU said the Ministry of Education and National Treasury had not provided the written commitment required by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) regarding funding for the 2025–2029 agreement. The union argued that the absence of such a commitment had complicated the negotiation process and prevented the parties from moving towards a substantive financial counter-proposal.
The Star similarly reported that UASU had accused university councils, the Ministry of Education and the National Treasury of failing to honour commitments connected to the Return-to-Work Formula signed in November 2025.
UASU has therefore framed the strike as part of its effort to secure what it regards as a comprehensive and properly implemented collective agreement rather than simply a dispute over salaries.
Part-time lecturers placed at centre of Tom Mboya dispute
At Tom Mboya University, however, the immediate flashpoint has been the role of part-time academic staff during the strike.
UASU officials have urged part-time lecturers from neighbouring universities to stay away from the institution rather than accepting teaching assignments intended to maintain classes during the industrial action.
According to The Standard, Ndolo said previous strikes had allegedly been weakened when part-time lecturers continued teaching. He warned against any arrangement that would allow part-time academic staff to enter Tom Mboya University and conduct classes while union members remained on strike.
The union official also argued that the outcome of the wider CBA negotiations would not be limited to permanent academic staff, saying part-time lecturers could ultimately benefit from improvements secured through the collective bargaining process.
A similar account was carried by Daily Nation, which reported that UASU members at Tom Mboya University accused part-time colleagues of undermining the union’s campaign and called on lecturers from neighbouring institutions to respect the collective action.
The warning illustrates one of the challenges that frequently accompany university strikes: maintaining the effectiveness of industrial action while institutions attempt to preserve academic programmes.
For students, the presence of alternative lecturers can potentially allow some academic activities to continue. For unions, however, replacing striking workers may reduce the pressure created by the withdrawal of labour.
UASU’s position at Tom Mboya University is therefore that the strike should be allowed to interrupt normal teaching until the outstanding grievances are addressed.
Learning activities disrupted across Kenya
The dispute is not confined to Tom Mboya University.
Reports from Kenyan media indicate that the strike has affected public universities across the country, with academic staff withdrawing their services as unions push for resolution of their grievances.
Citizen Digital reported on October 2 that teaching and learning activities in public universities had been disrupted after UASU and other university workers began nationwide industrial action over the 2025–2029 CBA. The report said the strike followed the collapse of talks between the unions and the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum (IPUCCF).
The action has consequently placed thousands of students and university programmes in a difficult position, particularly as institutions continue to manage academic calendars and other administrative commitments.
The dispute also involves questions surrounding salaries, terms of service, working conditions and other employment-related matters.
UASU has said that the new CBA is expected to address several issues affecting academic staff, including remuneration, promotion, research support, academic freedom, pensions and disciplinary procedures.
At Tom Mboya University, Ndolo told The Standard that the union wanted commitments made to university workers honoured and collective bargaining to produce meaningful results.
Dispute follows earlier university labour tensions
The latest strike follows a longer period of tension between university staff unions and the government over collective bargaining agreements.
The 2025–2029 CBA was expected to succeed the previous agreement covering the 2021–2025 period. The transition has been complicated by disputes over funding, implementation and outstanding obligations from earlier agreements.
UASU began pushing publicly for the conclusion of the new agreement before the current strike deadline. On September 18, the union gave the government and the IPUCCF one month to negotiate, sign, register and implement the 2025–2029 CBA, warning that failure to do so would trigger further industrial action.
Daily Nation reported at the time that UASU Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga said the union would issue a seven-day strike notice if the agreement was not concluded within the stipulated period.
The union subsequently issued the seven-day notice on September 24.
The Star reported that UASU accused university councils, the Ministry of Education and the National Treasury of failing to provide a satisfactory response on the new CBA, prompting the union to set October 2 as the commencement date for the strike.
The development shows that the current action was not a sudden decision but followed weeks of public warnings, negotiations and increasingly firm demands from the academic staff union.
Government funding remains a major point of contention
Funding is one of the major issues underlying the dispute.
UASU has demanded clarity over how the financial obligations associated with the 2025–2029 CBA will be met.
The union’s concerns have also emerged against the backdrop of broader discussions about the future financing of higher education in Kenya.
In its September reporting, Daily Nation noted that UASU had questioned the government’s emerging approach to university financing and expressed concern about proposals associated with a market-oriented funding model.
The union has argued that academic staff remuneration should be protected within the public financing framework and has called for clear guarantees regarding government funding for university operations and employees.
The dispute therefore extends beyond the immediate question of when lecturers will return to classrooms. It touches on how Kenya’s public university system will be financed, how academic workers will be remunerated and how collective bargaining agreements will be honoured.
Wider university unions also involved
UASU is not the only union involved in the wider labour dispute.
The Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU) also issued a strike notice ahead of October 2, citing unresolved matters surrounding the 2025–2029 CBA.
The Standard reported in September that KUSU had accused employers and the government of failing to conclude, register and implement the new collective bargaining agreement despite negotiations having been underway.
Other university workers have also raised concerns over employment conditions, remuneration and the implementation of previous agreements.
The coordinated industrial action has consequently increased pressure on the government and university employers to reach an agreement capable of restoring normal academic operations.
What the strike means for students
For students, the immediate consequence is disruption to lectures, examinations, academic consultations and other university activities.
The impact is particularly significant for students whose academic calendars depend on uninterrupted teaching.
At Tom Mboya University, UASU has indicated that normal learning will remain affected for as long as the industrial action continues.
Daily Nation reported that the strike had already grounded learning activities across public universities, while union officials maintained that academic staff would remain on strike until their grievances were addressed.
The disruption also raises questions about how universities will manage academic calendars if the industrial action persists.
Any prolonged interruption could require institutions to consider adjustments to lecture schedules, examinations and other academic activities, although specific arrangements would depend on individual universities and developments in the labour dispute.
Union maintains pressure for collective bargaining
For UASU, the fundamental issue remains the principle of collective bargaining and the implementation of agreements reached between university employees and their employers.
At Tom Mboya University, the union has linked its warning to part-time lecturers with its broader effort to maintain solidarity among academic staff.
The union’s position is that allowing replacement lecturers to continue teaching would undermine the intended effect of the strike.
However, the implications of the warning also extend to students and university management, who face the practical challenge of balancing uninterrupted education with an ongoing industrial dispute.
As of October 2, 2026, the central question remained whether the government, university employers and unions could return to negotiations and establish a framework for resolving the outstanding matters.
The national strike has brought the 2025–2029 CBA dispute into sharper focus, while the confrontation at Tom Mboya University over part-time lecturers demonstrates how industrial action can generate additional tensions within individual institutions.
For now, UASU members at Tom Mboya University have made their position clear: striking lecturers intend to remain away from teaching, and they want part-time lecturers from neighbouring institutions to respect the action by not taking over their classes.
The wider dispute, however, will ultimately require engagement between the unions, university employers and the Kenyan government if public universities are to return fully to normal academic operations.
The unfolding situation remains significant for students, academic staff and the future administration of Kenya’s public university sector, with the conclusion and implementation of the 2025–2029 CBA likely to remain at the centre of negotiations.
“The Standard UASU warns part-time lecturers against sabotaging their strike”
“Daily Nation Lecturers’ strike grounds learning across public universities nationwide”
“Citizen Digital University lecturers begin nationwide strike over CBA deal”
“Daily Nation Public universities face total shutdown as lecturers issue strike notice”
“The Star Why university lecturers will strike from October 2”
“Kenya News Agency UASU calls for urgent action to address crisis in public universities”
“UASU-TUM Document Centre Official union documents and statements”