A fresh standoff is brewing between the government and the University Academic Staff Union (UASU) over delays in signing and implementing a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and what the union describes as questionable hiring practices at the University of Nairobi (UoN).
UASU now warns that failure to address the issues could trigger industrial action, raising the prospect of renewed instability at the country’s oldest public university, just months after a new council was appointed to restore order following prolonged governance turmoil.
Speaking to UASU members at UoN, Secretary-General Dr Maloba Wekesa accused the government and university management of breaching the 2021–2025 CBA and manipulating recruitment to exert control over the institution.
“Chacha Nyaigori Chacha, the University of Nairobi is still paying a heavy price for the shambolic mess that the former university council left us,” Wekesa said.
While welcoming the dissolution of the former council and the appointment of a new one, the Sec-Gen questioned the exclusion of the deputy vice-chancellor in charge of human resources from recently advertised top management positions, describing it as deliberate.
“What was missing in this advertisement was the position of Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of Human Resources, which is also held in an acting capacity. This is not an inadvertent omission but a deliberate act that sows’ seeds of disorder and points to unseen intent in controlling staff hiring,” he said.
He also raised concerns over several senior support roles, including finance, personnel and procurement, that have remained unfilled substantively, with officers serving in acting capacities for more than a year.
“This is a deliberate move to ensure undue influence is exerted on those holding these offices. We demand that the council addresses this decisively to assure staff that the days of ministerial plots are behind us,” Dr Wekesa said.
UASU chair Dr Richard Bosire said prolonged acting appointments violate the law and undermine merit-based recruitment, noting that the university has lacked a substantive vice chancellor since September 2024.
“Any recruitment in the public sector must be based on merit and professionalism, not nepotism, ethnicity or political expediency. By law, no one should act beyond six months, yet we have officers including the Vice-Chancellor who have been acting for over a year, and nobody seems bothered,” h said.
The union also accused the university of failing to implement the CBA, particularly affecting staff who retired after it was signed, saying some have yet to receive their dues or pension.
