75 Moi University Lecturers Face Job Loss as UASU Issues Ultimatum.
Moi University is confronting a renewed labour dispute after the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) formally opposed a decision by the institution’s management to declare 75 lecturers employed on permanent and pensionable terms redundant.
The redundancy notice, issued by the Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Kiplagat Kotut, forms part of a broader staff rationalisation exercise that the university states is necessary to address a deepening financial crisis.
UASU has rejected the process as unlawful, demanded its immediate withdrawal, and called on the national Government to commission an independent audit of the institution’s financial position and staffing requirements.
The dispute was formally addressed by UASU officials during a press briefing held in Eldoret on Monday, August 24, 2026.
Moi University’s Financial Position
Moi University, established in 1984 and headquartered in Eldoret, has for over a decade experienced sustained financial distress. Appearing before the National Assembly’s Education Committee, chaired by Tinderet Member of Parliament Julius Melly, Acting Vice-Chancellor Prof. Kotut disclosed that the institution had accumulated debts exceeding Ksh8 billion, with pending bills surpassing Ksh10 billion.
According to Prof. Kotut, the university’s liabilities now outstrip its current assets by approximately Ksh8.6 billion, a position he described as technically insolvent. The pending obligations include unremitted pension contributions, unpaid statutory deductions, supplier arrears and delayed salary payments.
Prof. Kotut further disclosed that a special audit of the university’s financial records, covering the year ended June 30, 2025, had brought renewed attention to financial difficulties that have persisted for more than a decade. He also requested an additional Ksh1.9 billion in payroll support from the National Assembly for the 2026/27 financial year and disclosed that a further Ksh4.7 billion would be required to meet obligations under a previously signed Return-to-Work Formula.
The university’s leadership maintains that student enrolment has been rising following earlier declines, with the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academics, Research, Extension and Student Affairs, Khaemba Ongeti, reporting that admissions increased from approximately 5,000 in 2024 to 6,800 in 2025, with a projected enrolment of 10,000 in 2026.
The Redundancy Notice
The current redundancy exercise, announced in August 2026, targets 75 members of academic staff and follows a workload analysis conducted by the university administration.
Management has stated that the exercise is intended to align staffing levels with actual teaching workload and reduce what it describes as an unsustainable wage bill. Prof. Kotut had earlier told Parliament that the review was necessary because some staff members carried limited or unclear workload allocations.
The current notice follows an earlier redundancy notice issued in April 2025 affecting a separate cohort of employees, and a subsequent attempt in 2025 to declare approximately 900 employees redundant across both academic and non-academic cadres.
The 2025 redundancy exercise was challenged in the Employment and Labour Relations Court, which directed the university to first undertake meaningful consultation with union leadership before proceeding. UASU has indicated that it may pursue further legal action in relation to the current notice if consultations with management do not produce a resolution.
UASU’s Position
UASU Moi University Chapter Secretary Prof. Robert Oduori stated that the redundancy notice was contradictory, noting that positions declared redundant were simultaneously being advertised for part-time lecturers.
Prof. Oduori maintained that redundancy under Section 40 of the Employment Act, 2007, must be justified by a genuine lack of work, and not used as a mechanism to substitute permanent staff with lower-cost part-time labour.
UASU Moi University Chapter Chairman David Kosgei stated that replacing experienced full-time faculty with part-time lecturers would compromise the quality of academic delivery at the institution.
The union further disclosed that lower-cadre staff had already been sent home in a related exercise, with approximately 20 casual workers subsequently engaged to manage university hostels, a development UASU cited as evidence that the redundancy exercise was not driven solely by financial necessity.
UASU National Trustee Dr. Jane Michael stated that the university administration should first pursue alternative measures, including reduction of unnecessary expenditure, strengthening of financial management systems and redeployment of staff to other roles, before proceeding to dismiss permanent lecturers.
Dr. Michael further stated that the university should provide a public account of how prior financial support and internally generated revenue had been utilised.
The union also raised specific concern regarding staffing levels at the School of Law, and called for a comprehensive review of staffing requirements across all departments of the university prior to the implementation of any further retrenchment measures.
UASU officials stated that several departments were already experiencing staff shortages that had begun to affect teaching, examinations, research and postgraduate student supervision.
Demands and Ultimatum
UASU issued the following demands to the Moi University administration:
- Unconditional and immediate withdrawal of the redundancy notice affecting the 75 lecturers.
- Immediate withdrawal of the advertisement for part-time lecturers in the affected faculties.
- An independent audit of the university’s financial position and its actual staffing requirements, to be conducted under Government oversight.
- A comprehensive review of staffing levels across all university departments, including the School of Law, prior to any further redundancy action.
- Full implementation of the Return-to-Work Formula signed between UASU and the Moi University Council on November 30, 2024.
- Engagement of lecturers and their union representatives in formal consultations within seven days, failing which the union would consider industrial and legal action.
UASU stated that failure by the university to comply with these demands would result in members declining to hand over teaching materials or participate in any handover process, in addition to the initiation of industrial and legal action.
Government and Regulatory Involvement
UASU has called on the following bodies to intervene in the dispute:
- The Ministry of Education
- The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection
- The Commission for University Education (CUE)
- The Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE)
The union stated that it had previously challenged staff restructuring measures at Moi University in the Employment and Labour Relations Court and indicated that it retained the option of pursuing further litigation should the current consultation process fail to yield a resolution within the stipulated seven-day period.
UASU officials cautioned that the planned redundancy could disrupt teaching, examinations, grading and postgraduate supervision if the affected departments are not adequately staffed. The union noted that student numbers at the institution exceed 20,000 and disputed management’s characterisation of declining enrolment as justification for the reduction of academic staff.
UASU further noted that any withdrawal of services by remaining lecturers, in the event that consultations fail, would directly affect continuity of academic programmes ahead of the September intake of new students.
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Conclusion
The dispute between Moi University management and UASU over the redundancy of 75 lecturers is unfolding against the backdrop of an institution carrying debts and pending bills in excess of Ksh10 billion, a workforce rationalisation programme initiated by Acting Vice-Chancellor Prof. Kiplagat Kotut, and a prior 2025 attempt to declare approximately 900 employees redundant that was halted by the Employment and Labour Relations Court.
The university administration now faces a seven-day consultation period, set by UASU, before the union proceeds with the industrial and legal action it has threatened. The outcome of the dispute will be determined by whether Moi University withdraws the redundancy notice, engages in the consultations demanded by UASU, and whether the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labour, Commission for University Education and Federation of Kenya Employers intervene as requested by the union.
75 Moi University Lecturers Face Job Loss as UASU Issues Ultimatum.
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