Kenyatta University (KU) has issued a notice to students regarding a memo circulating on social media about the resumption of classes on Monday, October 26.
In a statement issued on Friday, October 23, the university dismissed the memo, saying it had not been issued by the Office of the Registrar (Academic) or any other authorised university office.
“All Kenyatta University students are advised to disregard the internal memo circulating on social media regarding the resumption of classes on Monday, 26th October 2026. The document is fake and did not originate from the Office of the Registrar (Academic) or any official university authority,” stated KU.
KU urged students to rely on its official website, ku.ac.ke, and verified social media accounts for accurate updates on academic activities.
What the Fake KU Memo Claimed
The KU memo claimed that classes would resume on Monday, October 26, and directed all students to return to campus and follow timetables issued by their respective schools and departments.
Also Read: University Lecturers Announce Mega Protests as Strike Deepens
“The Office of the Registrar (Academic) wishes to inform all students that the University will resume normal academic operations on Monday, 26th October 2026,” the purported memo stated.
The document also advised students to check the university website and other communication channels for updates and contact their respective schools and departments for further instructions.
It also called on students to observe university regulations, uphold academic integrity, and participate in teaching, learning, research, and community service.
Dated October 23, the memo bore the name of Acting Registrar (Academic) Professor Perez Onono-Okelo.
However, KU denied issuing the notice and urged students to disregard it. The statement did not confirm October 26 as the date for the resumption of classes.
Ogamba Asks Lecturers to Return to Work
The university’s clarification comes as the nationwide lecturers’ strike continues to disrupt academic activities in public universities.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has urged university lecturers to return to work, saying the government is ready to resolve outstanding issues under the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
Speaking during the 10th graduation ceremony at Thika Technical Training Institute on Friday, October 23, Ogamba said the government had cleared historical salary arrears under previous agreements and was committed to addressing outstanding issues under the current CBA.
“For our universities, the Government has demonstrated its commitment to staff welfare by clearing all arrears under the 2017–2021 and 2021–2025 Collective Bargaining Agreements. As we speak today, there are no historical arrears under any Collective Bargaining Agreements,” Ogamba said.
The CS said the government was willing to continue negotiations with university staff unions to resolve the outstanding differences.
Also Read: Ogamba Issues Fresh Appeal to University Lecturers Over Strike
He urged lecturers to resume teaching while discussions continued, warning that prolonged disruption could affect students’ education.
“My plea to our university staff is this: let us not unduly interrupt the education of our students over matters that the Government has already demonstrated willingness and readiness to address,” Ogamba said.
University Lecturers Reject KSh12 Billion Offer
The dispute follows the failure of negotiations between the government and university staff unions over the implementation of the 2025–2029 CBA.
The Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) issued a seven-day nationwide strike notice, with lecturers in public universities scheduled to down their tools from midnight on Friday, October 2.
In an announcement on September 24, UASU said the strike followed the failure by university councils, the Ministry of Education and the National Treasury to honour a return-to-work formula signed on November 5, 2025.
On October 12, UASU and the Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU) reportedly rejected a KSh12 billion government offer to end the strike and secure lecturers’ return to work.
The unions maintained that the government needed to address the specific concerns raised by university staff and fully implement agreed terms rather than focus solely on the latest pay offer.
UASU Secretary General Dr Constantine Wasonga described the proposal as inadequate and said the union had rejected it.
“The counteroffer from the government is awfully inadequate, and we have rejected it in total,” Wasonga said.
The rejection marked another setback in efforts to resolve the dispute, with negotiations having failed to produce an agreement to end the strike.
UASU has also accused university councils, the Ministry of Education and the National Treasury of failing to honour the November 2025 return-to-work formula. The union has also faulted the government for failing to present a financial counterproposal for the 2025–2029 CBA, despite negotiations continuing since last year.
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