The court has issued interim orders to stop the implementation of a Public Service Commission (PSC) directive.
The directives would have set the mandatory retirement age at 70 for professors, lecturers, and researchers in public universities.
The directive was to take effect on March 24, 2026, but the suspension allows senior academics to continue in their roles pending a final ruling.
PSC Directive and Its Objectives
The Public Service Commission had issued a circular standardizing retirement policies across the public service, requiring all academic staff in public universities to retire at 70.
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In a memo dated March 2, 2026, addressed to Cabinet Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, university councils, vice-chancellors, state corporations, the Registrar of the Judiciary, and the Auditor-General, PSC Chief Executive Officer Paul Famba said the change aims to “ensure uniformity and compliance in the public service.”
The directive applied to professors, lecturers, and researchers, encompassing all public universities in the country.
However, the move was opposed by some academics, and university associations raised concerns about the policy, arguing that it could force out highly experienced staff, disrupt ongoing research, and negatively affect the teaching at the universities.
PSC New Retirement Age for Public University
Under the revised framework that the court has stopped, professors, associate professors, and research professors serving under permanent and pensionable terms would retire at 70 years, while persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the same category would retire at 75 years.
Senior lecturers and lecturers will retire at 65 years, while those under the PWDs category will retire at 70 years.
Assistant lecturers, junior researchers, graduate assistants, and research assistants under contract employment terms will retire at 60 years, while PWDs will retire at 65 years.
Research scientists working in research institutions who hold a PhD will retire at 65 years of age, or at 70 years of age if they are living with a disability.
Those with a master’s degree and relevant publications will also retire at 65 years, with an extension to 70 years for persons with disabilities.
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Non-teaching staff will retire at 60 years, while those registered as persons with disabilities will retire at 65 years, in line with Regulation 70(1)(b) of the Public Service Commission Regulations.
Retirement Age in Other Public Sectors
Under the East African Community (EAC) Treaty 2009, the retirement age is 60 years, with PWDs ranging from 60 to 74 years.
Previously, the mandatory retirement age in the public service was set at 55 years.
The government then raised it to 60 years in 2009, following concerns that the public sector was losing highly skilled and experienced employees while they were still productive.
In a circular issued at the time, then Head of the Public Service, Francis Muthaura, said the change was intended to retain critical professional and technical skills within government institutions and address succession gaps caused by early retirement.
