The wait is over. The nationwide lecturers' strike that began on 2 October 2026 is over, and classes in public universities are set to resume on Monday 2 November 2026.

The Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) signed a KSh 20 billion agreement with the government on the evening of Friday 30 October 2026 and called off the strike, TUKO reported at 23:51 EAT on Friday. The agreement was signed by union officials led by Secretary-General Dr Constantine Wasonga Opiyo and Higher Education Principal Secretary Beatrice Inyangala, according to that report. On Saturday morning, Capital FM and Kenyans.co.ke reported the same outcome in fuller terms: UASU and the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum (IPUCCF) signed a Return to Work Formula following negotiations under an inter-ministerial committee, with talks also involving the Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU), the Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Educational Institutions, Hospitals and Allied Workers (KUDHEIHA), and representatives from the Ministries of Education and Labour. Kenyans.co.ke quoted the union's statement: "All our members are expected to resume their teaching, research and other academic duties on Monday, 2 November 2026."

Speaking after the signing, Wasonga directed lecturers to resume teaching immediately and urged students who had travelled home during the industrial action to return to their universities. TUKO quoted him: "Prepare to go to class. Tomorrow go to church, pray. On Sunday also go to church and pray. On Monday, go back to universities. Our students, start travelling to your university from tonight."

The KSh 20 billion package covers basic salaries and allowances under the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement, Wasonga said, as reported by TUKO. It is KSh 8.04 billion higher than the government's 26 October counterproposal of KSh 11.96 billion, which the unions had rejected, and a long way from the earlier offers of KSh 9.76 billion and KSh 3.1 billion that Wasonga listed in the same account. Kenyans.co.ke, citing documents it obtained, reported the government committed to release the funds in three instalments — KSh 6.7 billion, KSh 6.7 billion and KSh 6.6 billion — over the 2026/2027, 2027/2028 and 2028/2029 financial years, with lecturers receiving a 3.5 per cent increase in monthly basic salaries annually for four years, effective 1 July 2025. Capital FM reported the signed Return to Work Formula protects members from victimisation, including union officials and lecturers on contractual terms, and Kenyans.co.ke reported disciplinary proceedings started during the strike are to be withdrawn. "Today we have agreed on a figure we have negotiated with the government, not a figure imposed on the union," Wasonga said on 28 October, when the verbal deal was first announced. Capital FM quoted his declaration after Friday's signing: "We have now achieved the objectives of our strike. THE STRIKE IS OVER."

That 28 October announcement had set the timetable this article has been tracking all week: technical teams to document the deal on Thursday 29 October, formal signing and call-off on Friday 30 October at 15:00, and lectures resuming on Monday 2 November. The signing itself came in the evening rather than at 15:00, but the outcome is the one that was scheduled: a signed deal, a called-off strike, and a Monday return.

The strike involved UASU, the Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU) and the Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Educational Institutions, Hospitals and Allied Workers (KUDHEIHA), across 35 public universities. A report citing a KTN News broadcast said all three unions had called off the strike following the signing, and Saturday's reporting says KUSU and KUDHEIHA were involved in the talks that produced the Return to Work Formula. Separate call-off statements from KUSU and KUDHEIHA themselves were not in the reports checked for this article. The full signed text has not been published in the reports checked; the instalment and salary figures above are as reported by Kenyans.co.ke from documents it obtained, not from a published agreement.

This updates the position in Campus Pulse's earlier strike reporting. Article 02, "The Strike Is SET To End — But Don't Pack Your Bags Just Yet," and article 29, "3pm Came and Went — No Signing, No Road Opening, No Confirmation Yet," were correct at the times they were published: at 17:36 EAT on Friday, no signing had been confirmed in the searches checked. The signing reported on Friday evening changes that. Separately, the Rironi–Naivasha part of article 29 has also moved on: the 30 October opening did NOT happen. On Friday 30 October, during an inspection with the National Assembly Transport Committee, Roads CS Davis Chirchir pushed the Rironi–Naivasha opening to early December 2026, saying the contractor should finish the dualling of the Nairobi–Naivasha section by December, with design works remaining at the Naivasha Junction interchange. That replaces the September promise of completion by 30 October, which was not met. No opening is claimed here.

What we could not verify: the full text of the signed agreement; separate call-off statements from KUSU and KUDHEIHA beyond the KTN-cited report and Saturday's reporting that they were involved in the talks; and whether any individual university has issued its own resumption notice with a different timetable from Monday 2 November. Students should check their own university's notice alongside this national position.

SOURCES (append at the end of the body, as in the saved file):

- TUKO, 30 Oct 2026, 23:51 EAT: https://www.tuko.co.ke/education/645115-uasu-calls-lecturers-strike-ksh20bn-deal-urges-students-return-universities/

- Sikiza News, 30 Oct 2026, citing KTN News broadcast (all three unions called off strike following signing): http://sikizanews.blogspot.com/2026/10/university-lecturers-and-related.html

- Kenya Today, 31 Oct 2026 (signing Friday evening, Wasonga + PS Inyangala, return by 2 Nov): https://kenya-today.com/report-uasu-ends-fourweek-lecturers-strike-after-ksh20-billion-deal-calls-on-students-to-return-19510/

- People Daily, 31 Oct 2026, 07:19 EAT, and Kenyans.co.ke, 31 Oct 2026 (Chirchir pushes Rironi–Naivasha opening to early December; 30 Oct deadline not met): https://peopledaily.digital/news/rironi-mau-summit-road-reprieve-for-travelers-as-govt-reveals-when-naivasha-section-will-open and https://www.kenyans.co.ke/news/129017-chirchir-pushes-rironi-naivasha-road-opening-december

- Business Today, 29 Oct 2026 (verbal deal, Friday signing scheduled): https://businesstoday.co.ke/dons-reach-ksh20-billion-deal-with-state-to-end-university-strike/

- Capital FM, 31 Oct 2026, 08:25 EAT (UASU calls off strike, Return to Work Formula, no victimisation): https://capitalfm.africa/uasu-calls-off-university-lecturers-strike-after-signing-sh20bn-deal-with-government/

- Kenyans.co.ke, 31 Oct 2026, 11:07 EAT (UASU statement, IPUCCF signing, instalments and 3.5% increase, disciplinary proceedings withdrawn): https://www.kenyans.co.ke/news/129024-lecturers-end-strike-uasu-signs-ksh20-billion-salary-deal-govt