The High Court has issued a new ruling in a case involving the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) over the ongoing nationwide strike by university lecturers.
Justice Stephen Radido of the Milimani Commercial Courts on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, presided over the matter involving the Inter Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum (IPUCCF) and the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) as the applicants, with UASU as the defendant.
The court has set December 11, 2025, as the date for delivering a ruling on several critical applications, including a motion for a stay of the ongoing strike, alleged contempt of court against the UASU and Ministry officials, and UASU’s application for temporary orders regarding the strike.
To allow room for negotiations, the court has granted the parties an additional 10 days to engage in dialogue and attempt to reach a consensus before October 29, 2025.
UASU Secretary General, Dr. Wasonga, has been notified of the developments as parties prepare for further legal and negotiation proceedings.
Also Read: UASU Issues Another Strike Notice for Lecturers
This comes as lecturers across Kenya continue their industrial action, demanding improved terms of service and implementation of previously agreed Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs).
The strike, which has disrupted learning in public universities nationwide, remains unresolved as stakeholders await the court’s final determination.
UASU-Government talks collapse as strike by lecturers enters fourth week
On Monday, mediation talks between UASU and the Ministry of Education through IPUCCF failed to yield results or end the strike, now in its fourth week. Secretary General Wasonga accused the ministry of sabotaging the talks of the technical joint committee.
The talks, which had raised hopes of ending the impasse that has disrupted learning in public universities for one month, collapsed after hours of tense negotiations over the implementation of the 2017-2021 CBAs.
UASU claimed government officials frustrated the process, while the ministry insists the lecturers’ figures are inflated and the strike is illegal.
There was no breakthrough after the ministry insisted that, according to the SRC advisory, only about Ksh624 million remains unpaid from the 2017 to 2021 CBAs.
“We will establish what has been paid from the data that has been submitted by the universities. From that we shall establish what is outstanding to the lecturers and other non-teaching staff then we shall enter into agreement of how that will be sorted out,” said Higher Education Principal Secretary Dr. Beatrice Inyangala.
Also Read: Countrywide Lecturers Strike Intensifies as More Universities Join Protests
The unions, however, insisted their audit is final and accused the government of backtracking and deliberately stalling. They claimed the ministry’s team walked out of the meeting once the verification confirmed that Ksh7.9 billion remains outstanding.
On his part, Wasonga said, “When did they realize that their figures are wrong, that now they are requesting finance officers and Vice Chancellors to give them accurate data by the end of business today? Who is confused now?”
The meeting, held at Machakos University, raised hopes among stakeholders for ending the impasse that has disrupted learning in public universities, but it ended in yet another deadlock.
The collapse of talks meant that the Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC) had to step in on Wednesday to issue directions and determine whether dialogue would resume or the stalemate would persist.
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Dedan Kimathi University of Technology (DeKUT) Lecturers and KUSU Members demonstrate outside the institution in Nyeri on September 18, 2024. PHOTO/NMG
