The government and university lecturers have reached a verbal agreement worth Ksh20 billion to end a four-week strike that has disrupted learning in public universities across the country.
Speaking to the press shortly after the deal was reached, University Academic Staff Union (UASU) Secretary-General Constantine Wesonga said the agreement would be formally signed on Friday, October 30.
"We have a deal on the financials. Tomorrow our technical team is going to sit down to put what we have agreed on on pen and paper," Wesonga said.
He announced that lecturers would resume teaching on Monday, November 2, 2026, urging union members to prepare to return to their respective institutions.
“To comrades, start walking towards your universities. I want to assure you that from Monday, you shall have your lessons," added Wesonga.
The unions are expected to review the proposed allocations for individual staff members on Friday before signing the agreement with the government.
Lecturers affiliated with UASU, the Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU) and KUDHEIHA began the strike on October 2, bringing learning to a standstill in 35 public universities.
They had demanded fresh negotiations and the implementation of the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs), with several rounds of negotiations failing to produce a breakthrough.
The government had maintained that it could not raise its offer beyond Ksh12 billion, a position that prolonged the standoff between the two sides.
Last week, the lecturers rejected a reported Ksh12 billion offer from the government. On Monday, October 26, an inter-ministerial committee presented a revised proposal of Ksh11.96 billion, which the unions also turned down, arguing that it represented a slight reduction from the previous Ksh12 billion offer.
The unions maintained that the Ksh12 billion proposal would translate into only a 3 per cent increase in basic salaries.
However, the negotiations took a different turn on Thursday after the government raised its offer to Ksh20 billion, a figure the lecturers accepted.
"Today we have agreed on a figure we have negotiated with the government, not a figure imposed on the unions," Wesonga asserted.
The breakthrough followed negotiations involving union officials, university heads, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi and Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo.
The prolonged strike had triggered growing frustration among students, who had been left without regular classes for weeks as negotiations dragged on.
At the University of Nairobi, students took to the streets to protest the impasse, blocking Waiyaki Way twice during the week to demand a resolution.
The agreement now sets the stage for the resumption of academic activities, pending the formal signing of the deal and the completion of the remaining processes.
