Mbadi: Problem with lecturers’ strike is lack of understanding
By Lutta Njomo, October 4, 2025Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has explained the cause of the standoff between the striking lecturers and the Ministry of Education, led by Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba.
In an interview with a local TV station on Saturday, October 4, 2025, the CS absolved his docket, insisting that it was to blame for the standoff.
Also watch: University lecturers vow to sustain strike over dishonesty in negotiations
According to the CS, the root cause of the prolonged industrial action stems from a misunderstanding between the Ministry of Education and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).
” In terms of talking about the lecturer’s strike, I don’t think the problem is the Treasury. The problem with the lecturer’s strike is a lack of understanding between the ministry and SRC. They need to sort it out there,” Mbadi insisted.
Gave out agreed-upon money
The CS went further to disclose that his ministry had honoured the 2024 agreement and allocated Ksh4.3 billion to the university dons.
In the 2025/26 financial year, Mbadi detailed that the government committed to remit Ksh2.7 billion towards the lecturers, and the promise has already been met.
Also watch: Students cry out as lecturers’ strike paralyses learning in universities
“We, last year, entered into an agreement, and we gave the location, as we agreed, Ksh4.3 billion which we signed, that we gave last year. Actually, we gave it under Article 223, and we regularised it in the supplementary budget. This financial year, we committed to release Ksh2.7. We have already released the money early, when the year began, although the money was supposed to be released throughout the year,” Mbadi explained.
“But we decided to release it in full. I will also mention to you that the question around how much was owed, because what now I hear, I have no facts about these things. It is with the Ministry of Education and Labour that there were amounts that were supposed to have been paid between 2017 and 2021,” he added.
Education CS take
Mbadi’s sentiments came a day after Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba directed the striking lecturers to engage their union representative, the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU), to engage SRC for the actual amount of money owed to the dons by the government.
Speaking during the launch of the 2025 National Examination and Assessment Season on Friday, October 3, 2025, Migos Ogamba urged the lecturers to suspend the strike and engage in meaningful dialogue.
Also watch: CS Ogamba urges lecturers to return to work, cites payments and court order
CS Ogamba further referred the lecturers to the SRC for clear data on the 2017-2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement stalemate that has paralysed learning across public higher learning institutions.
The CS has said that according to SCR, university staff are owed only Ksh624 million and not the Ksh7.9 billion claimed by UASU.
”Ksh4.3 billion that was for immediate release for the period of October 2024 up to and including June 2025, this amount has been fully settled. Secondly, Ksh2.73 billion for the financial year 2025/2026, which has also been disbursed between the months of July and September 2025. Number three, Ksh2.73 billion for the financial year 2026/2027, which will be settled in the coming financial year, has been scheduled for July 2026,” the CS explained.
As the ongoing lecturers’ strike enters its third week, university staff unions are vowing not to resume work until their demands on Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) are met.