Chaos on Waiyaki Way: University of Nairobi students protest crippling lecturers’ strike

Traffic along the busy Waiyaki Way came to a complete standstill on Wednesday afternoon as furious students from the University of Nairobi (UoN) took to the streets.

The demonstrators lit bonfires, burned tires, and barricaded major sections of the highway with large stones, forcing motorists and commuters to scramble for alternative routes.

The protest was fueled by mounting frustration over the ongoing nationwide lecturers’ strike, which has paralyzed academic programs and left thousands of learners in limbo.

Armed with twigs, whistles, and placards, the students chanted anti-government slogans, demanding an immediate resolution to the standoff between university staff unions and the state.

The fiery demonstration did not come without warning. Less than a week prior, the University of Nairobi Students Association (UNSA) had issued a strict 72-hour ultimatum to the government, threatening statewide demonstrations if a compromise was not reached.

In an official statement released on Friday, October 16, UNSA President Ahmed Rashid sharply criticized the government for ignoring the plight of students who continue to bear the collateral damage of a labor dispute they have no control over.

“We will not continue sitting back while our academic calendar is compromised,” student leaders warned during the buildup to the protests, accusing state authorities of turning a blind eye to the crisis.

The nationwide strike, which officially kicked off on October 2, was called by university staff unions most notably the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) following what they termed as the government’s failure to implement the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)

The union is demanding the formal negotiation, signing, and full implementation of terms covering revised salaries, better allowances, and improved terms of employment.

UASU Secretary General Constantine Wasonga has repeatedly emphasized that the union will not back down until the National Treasury demonstrates a concrete financial commitment to honoring the agreement.

For the students, the ongoing impasse translates to more than just missed classes; it represents extended graduation timelines, delayed examinations, and escalating financial stress. With laboratories closed, lecture halls empty, and final-year projects stalled, learners feel they have been pushed to the wall.

“We are missing lectures, and our exams are indefinitely postponed. We have no idea when we will complete our studies or graduate, yet tuition fees remain the same,” one protesting student expressed bitterly at the scene.

Images captured along Waiyaki Way depicted a heavy disruption of public transport, with crowds of stranded commuters forced to walk long distances. Police officers later arrived at the scene to restore order and clear the debris, though tensions remained high throughout the afternoon.

The UoN protests underscore a deeper structural crisis plaguing Kenya's public higher education sector. Chronic underfunding, delayed disbursements to public universities, and recurring labor disputes have frequently brought tertiary institutions to a halt over the years.

Education stakeholders have continually urged the Ministry of Education and the National Treasury to prioritize dialogue with academic unions to avert cyclical strikes that degrade the quality of education.

However, with neither the government nor UASU showing immediate signs of yielding on the core financial demands of the 2025–2029 CBA, students fear that Wednesday's demonstrations may only be the beginning of a larger wave of unrest across national campuses.

As the smoke cleared along Waiyaki Way and traffic slowly resumed, the ball remained firmly in the government's court to broker a lasting settlement and rescue the academic future of thousands of Kenyan youths.