The government and university lecturers have reached a verbal agreement on a Sh20 billion deal to end a four-week strike that has disrupted learning across the country.
Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga said on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, that the two sides had agreed on the financial terms after negotiations with the Ministry of Education, the National Treasury, and officials in charge of internal security.
Wasonga said technical teams would formalise the agreement before the union officially calls off the strike at 3pm on Friday, October 30, allowing lecturers to resume work and students to return to class the following Monday.
“We have a deal on financials. Now our technical team is going to sit down to put what we have agreed on, on pen and paper,” Wasonga said.
He emphasised that the government negotiated the figure rather than imposed it on the union, describing the agreement as a breakthrough after weeks of stalled talks.
“Today we have agreed on a figure we have negotiated with the government. Not a figure imposed on the union,” he said.
Wasonga said the union’s technical team would work on the details of the agreement, including calculating the amounts due to individual university staff members.
He noted that the negotiations took about three hours, contrasting the outcome with previous discussions between university staff unions and vice-chancellors under the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum (IPUCCF).
According to Wasonga, the latest engagement had achieved what earlier negotiations had struggled to resolve over an extended period.
He thanked Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi and Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo for helping bring the parties together.
Wasonga said the involvement of the government officials had helped break the impasse that had left universities unable to conduct normal academic activities for about four weeks.
The UASU secretary-general urged striking lecturers to prepare to return to their respective universities once the strike is officially called off.
He said the union would formally announce the end of the industrial action on Friday, after the technical teams documented the financial agreement.
Wasonga also urged university management to ensure the negotiated funds were used for their intended purpose, arguing that the union negotiated the deal directly on behalf of its members.
Wasonga apologised to students for the disruption caused by the strike and urged them to prepare to return to their lecture halls on Monday, November 2.
He said the planned resumption would depend on the formal conclusion of the agreement and the official lifting of the strike.