By Naomi Cheruiyot
Learning at Moi University is expected to be disrupted after lecturers made good on their threat to go on strike.
University Academic Staff Union (UASU) Moi University chapter officials announced the official start of the strike on Wednesday, August 20, 2025.
Addressing the press in Eldoret, UASU chapter officials, led by branch secretary general Dr Busolo Wekesa, said the strike has been necessitated by the university council’s failure to honour a return-to-work formula signed in November 2024
Wekesa noted that of the 25 issues that were agreed in the agreement that ended their three-month strike in 2024, none have been implemented by the institution.
“We’re not going on strike because we like going on strike. We are not going on strike because we want a salary increase, but we’re on strike because it’s the last option we have,” the UASU official said.
Why are Moi University on strike?
One of the major agreements that the Moi University lecturers said remains unaddressed is the payment of their salaries.
They argued that while the university had committed to timely payment of their dues, the case remains unchanged, with their salaries delayed up to two to three months.
“The salaries are not only delayed, but they are also not paid in full. This is happening when other universities are paying their lecturers on time,” Wekesa said.
According to the Moi University lecturers, delayed salary payment had led to most of them facing auction from banks and other financial service providers over unpaid loans.
They also accused the management of ignoring their letters, which they have been writing since the last strike.
With the strike now on, UASU insists any engagement with the management will happen while they are on strike.
“The time of engaging without actions is over. Now we can engage, but we also want to tell them that we will engage as we are outside,” Wekesa said.
“It’s becoming increasingly hard to walk into lecturer halls and tell students to work hard, study hard when this is the picture they see with respect to their dons,” said Linda Khaemba, Linda Khaemba, UASU Moi University chapter vice chairperson.
When will Moi University’s first-year students report?
The lecturers’ strike comes just a day before the scheduled arrival of the first years. The university had earlier indicated that the reporting date would be from August 21, 2025.
Coincidentally, the lecturers had also gone on strike last year when the first years were about to report.
Last week, Moi University management assured learners, parents and other stakeholders that they were working on addressing issues raised by UASU.
