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Nation

No deal: Lecturers to begin strike as talks with varsities bosses collapse

Kenya University Staff Union (KUSU) Secretary General Dr Charles Mukhwaya (centre) gestures during a media briefing on October 01, 2026, where they declared a nationwide strike from Friday, October 2, for university staff members. With him are Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) National Organising Secretary Jacob Musembi (right) and Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Educational Institutions, Hospitals and Allied Workers (KUDHEIHA) National Trustee Odoyo Genga.Lecturers and other staff in public universities will begin a nationwide strike on Friday October 2 after their unions rejected a counter-offer made by the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum (IPUCCF) in their protracted fight for a new pay deal.The unions said the offer made by the IPUCCF failed to address their concerns raised after an earlier offer. They said the proposal violates provisions of the registered 2021–2025 collective bargaining agreement (CBA), particularly on the harmonisation of allowances in the 2025–2029 agreement. The parties had met at Machakos University but the meeting ended in disarray.The Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU), Kenya University Staff Union (KUSU) and Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Educational Institutions, Hospitals and Allied Workers (KUDHEIHA) announced the strike on Thursday afternoon, saying negotiations over the 2025–2029 CBA had failed to yield an agreement.The unions further objected to the proposed medical benefits, saying they are inferior to those enjoyed by civil servants, while the proposed four percent annual increment falls below the prevailing inflation rate, which they said, is above six per cent. They also accused the employers of failing to address the staffing of academic departments amid high student enrolment in public universities.The unions said they had rejected the latest counter-offer tabled by IPUCCF, describing it as inadequate.“IPUCCF tabled a counter-offer that the unions consider very inferior. And therefore the three unions wish to state as follows: That UASU, KUSU and KUDHEHA reject in total the counter-offer from IPUCCF. The proposed automatic annual increment of a mere four percent is far below the prevailing inflation rates, which are more than six percent. And this cannot cushion our members against the high cost of living,” said national organising secretary UASU, Jacob Musembi.They said the offer failed to address appeals raised by the unions after an earlier counter-offer and breached provisions of the previous 2021–2025 CBA.“The counter-offer does not address one of the critical issues, that is, the recruitment of specifically the academic members of staff to match what is well known to us, the very high enrollment of students in public universities,” the unions said.Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) Secretary-General Dr Constantine Wasonga speaks during a press briefing at the union headquarters in Nairobi on September 24, 2026.The unions had issued a seven-day strike notice last week following prolonged negotiations with the government and university employers over the new CBA.They said the parties had committed to commence negotiations within 30 days after signing a return-to-work formula on November 5 2025, but accused the employers of failing to honour the commitment.“We have been on the table with these employers for all this while, and we feel that we are being taken round and round and round in cycles,” said Mr Musembi.The strike is expected to affect teaching and other services in public universities as members of the three unions withdraw their labour. The unions called on their members to remain united and report to the strike from Friday“The three unions call upon our members to withdraw their labour effective midnight today, Thursday 1st October 2026, until our demands are met in total. Tomorrow, we all come out in our large numbers, launch this strike, keep the strike on,” they said.Also Read:Public universities face total shutdown as lecturers issue strike noticeAccording to recommendations by the Inter-Public Universities Councils’ Consultative Forum (IPUCCF), university staff should receive an 8.25 per cent increase in basic salary over the 2025-2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) period, implemented at two per cent each year.The proposal is contained in IPUCCF’s recommendations to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) after considering the 2025-2029 demands submitted by UASU, KUSU and KUDHEIHA workers.From left: Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) National Chairperson Dr Grace Nyongesa, Secretary-General Dr Constantine Wasonga and National Trustee Jane Michael raise their fists in solidarity during a press briefing at the union headquarters in Nairobi on September 24, 2026.IPUCCF considered three options for the salary review, including a two per cent increase across the board, a two per cent increase for grades 11-15 and three per cent for grades 1-10, and a three per cent increase across all grades, which would have resulted in a cumulative 12.56 per cent increase.

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Nation

Police officer testifies Sarah Wairimu evaded arrest for seven months before Cohen’s death

Sarah Cohen follows proceedings during the hearing of the murder case against her in which she was charged with killing of the late Dutch businessman Tob Cohen before Justice Diana Kavedza at Kibera law courts in Nairobi on September 30, 2026. Sarah Wairimu Cohen, widow of Dutch billionaire Tob Cohen, evaded arrest and prosecution for seven months over allegations that she had assaulted her husband by travelling abroad, ignoring police summonses and locking herself inside her house, a senior police officer told the Kibera High Court on Thursday, October 1, 2026.Inspector Moses Mbwalwe told the court that Sarah failed to respond to police summonses to record a statement over the alleged assault, which Cohen reported in February 2019. She also travelled abroad and locked herself inside her house when officers attempted to arrest her.In a bid to arrest and charge her, Mr Mbwalwe said he obtained a warrant of arrest from the Kibera Law Courts, but it was never executed before Cohen was killed.He said Cohen reported the alleged assault by his wife at Muthangari Police Station in February 2019, but by September that year, Sarah had neither been arrested nor prosecuted.Also Read: Tob Cohen murder - How police, videos and workers are shaping the caseThe officer told the court that police had difficulty arresting her because they did not know her personally and relied on Cohen to identify her.Inspector Mbwalwe said officers visited her residence to arrest her, but she locked herself inside the house.He added that Cohen had asked the police to wait for Sarah to return from abroad, promising to inform them when she was back.Inspector Moses Mbalwe testifies during the hearing of the murder case of the late Dutch businessman Tob Cohen at Kibera law courts in Nairobi on October 1, 2026.On July 19, 2019, he said the officer commanding Muthangari Police Station received a letter purportedly written by Cohen seeking to withdraw the assault complaint against his wife.“When the letter from Cohen was received by the OCS seeking to withdraw the assault complaint, he informed me to get in touch with him, but his call was never answered,” MrMbwalwe said.The officer was testifying in the murder trial in which Sarah is charged with killing her husband on the night of July 19 and 20, 2019.He said he subsequently went to the Kibera Law Courts and obtained a warrant of arrest to enable police to apprehend and prosecute her for assaulting Cohen.“My Lord, we later received news that the body of Tob Cohen was found in a septic tank at his residence,” Insp Mbwalwe told the court.Insp Mbwalwe denied defence lawyer Pravin Bowry’s claim that police had done nothing about the assault complaint, insisting that officers had made several unsuccessful attempts to arrest Sarah.The court also heard testimony from a musician who performed at Plums Hotel on the night Cohen was last seen alive.Haston Kombe, the 18th prosecution witness, told the court that Cohen became excited when the band began playing Hit the Road Jack and asked to sing the Ray Charles classic himself.“He was excited when the band began to perform the song and requested to perform it,” Mr Kombe said.He said Cohen sang for about five minutes as the crowd cheered before the band moved on to another song.Mr Kombe described the hotel’s clientele as high-end, comprising regular customers of Indian, British and American origin.However, he said he could not recall exactly what happened later that night or specifically remember the people who accompanied Cohen.Asked about Cohen’s clothing, Mr Kombe recalled that he wore a light-blue jacket and trousers but could not remember the colour of his shirt or whether he had a tie.A former Government Chemist, John Kimani, also presented about 40 exhibits recovered from Cohen’s residence after his body was retrieved from the septic tank.Mr Kimani explained to the court how he had forensically examined the exhibits and prepared a detailed report on his findings.At the same time,two former hotel workers have recounted how Dutch billionaire Tob Cohen danced and sang popular country music at a Westlands hotel on the night of July 19, 2019, days before he was reported missing.Michael Wainaina Karuthai and Aggrey Makhala, former employees of Plums Hotel in Westlands, told the Kibera High Court that Cohen arrived at the hotel at around 12.30am on July 19, 2019.Also Read: Sarah Wairimu faces fresh charges for lying to police about her ‘lost’ passportEvidence produced during the hearing of the murder case of the late Dutch businessman Tob Cohen before Justice Diana Kavedza at Kibera Law Courts in Nairobi on October 1, 2026.Mr Karuthai, a former waiter, said the businessman appeared unusually jovial and happy when he checked into the hotel.He said Cohen went to the bar and  ordered whisky, later took to the dance floor and picked up a microphone and sang country music by Kenny Rogers.Mr Karuthai was testifying in the murder case in which Cohen’s widow Sarah Wairimu is charged with killing him on the night of July 19 and 20, 2019.

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Nation

Court cancels bond of man accused of hacking payment service provider and stealing Sh96.6 million

A Milimani court has cancelled the bond granted to a man accused of being the mastermind behind the hacking of a payment service provider and Sacco last year, leading to the loss of about Sh100 million.The court cancelled the Sh5 million bond granted to Albert Komen Kipkechem after he failed to show up for the hearing of the case on September 12.Mr Komen alias Jonathan Kiptum Barmasai is alleged to be behind two incidents affecting a payment service provider, a local bank, and a Sacco, where the institutions lost over Sh96.6 million in June 2025. He was charged in March with two counts of accessing the computer systems of the service providers and computer fraud. He was then released on bond pending the hearing of the case.And after failing to show up for the hearing, the trial court issued a warrant for his arrest as sought by the prosecution. But when he brought to court, Mr Komen defended himself that he was taken ill and did not jump bail as alleged. He further said he did not have the medical records to back his claim at the time of his arrest.The court cancelled his bail ordered that he be remanded until November 5 when the matter will be mentioned. The charge sheet stated that Mr Komen fraudulently occasioned the loss of Sh52.5 million to Eclecites. He is also accused of infringing security measures of Craft Silicon, leading to the loss of Sh44.1 million. The police alleged that investigations conducted in collaboration with experts drawn from the National Forensic Laboratory (NFL) and the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB), established that Mr Komen was the mastermind behind the computer fraud.The police alleged that Mr Komen used remote access software to gain unauthorized access to the payment platform and bank information systems and effected unauthorised transactions that did not follow the normal payment flow before the fraud was eventually detected. He was then arrested in Thome area in Nairobi County, and escorted him to his Nakuru home, where several items linked to the fraud were allegedly recovered. Among the recoveries were electronic gadgets, fraudulently registered identity cards, a money counting machine, cash in Kenyan currency, assorted SIM cards from various telecommunications service providers and ATM cards registered under other people’s names. Also recovered were a Congolese passport bearing Albert Komen Kipkechem’s photograph but registered under the name Katempa Ngoy Alexisa and a Congolese identity card bearing the same name, among other items believed to have been used in the commission of the fraud. Follow our WhatsApp channel for breaking news updates and more stories like this.We come to you. We are always looking for ways to improve our stories. Let us know what you liked and what we can improve on.Unions say negotiations over the 2025–2029 CBA have failed to yield an agreement.

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Nation

Detectives probe biscuit bite that cost UK-based Kenyan student Sh2 million

Nicholas Mbuvi Ndolo was travelling to Mombasa when he reportedly became unconscious after eating a piece of biscuit.What started as an otherwise pleasant journey from Nairobi to Mombasa ended with a Kenyan student based in the United Kingdom in a hospital bed, nursing the effects of suspected drugging and facing the shock of losing more than Sh2 million in cash and valuables.Nicholas Mbuvi Ndolo was travelling to Mombasa on September 25 when he reportedly became unconscious after eating a piece of biscuit shared by a stranger. By the time he regained consciousness, his belongings, including jewellery and electronic devices valued at more than Sh2 million, were missing.What followed was a police trail stretching from Kisauni to Magongo. Investigators traced Mr Ndolo’s stolen iPhone to Kisauni before the trail led them to Magongo, where they recovered several electronic devices, mobile phones, jewellery, bags and chemicals suspected to be stupefying substances.Two suspects, Pius Paskale Frugence and Abdulrahman Omar, have since been arrested as detectives investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident and whether it is linked to other similar cases.On Wednesday, a Mombasa magistrate allowed detectives to detain Mr Frugence, a Tanzanian national, and Mr Omar for 21 days to facilitate investigations. Police told the court that items belonging to Mr Ndolo had been recovered from the suspects’ residence.Abdulrahman Omar (left) and Pius Paskale Frugence when they appeared before a Mombasa court in this photo taken on September 30, 2026. They are under investigation for the alleged drugging and theft of a UK-based Kenyan student's valuables worth Sh2 million.Mr Ndolo had arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport from the UK on September 6 and spent the following weeks enjoying his stay in Kenya before deciding to travel to the Coast.On the evening of September 25, investigators say he boarded a Greenline Royal bus at about 9.30pm for the journey to Mombasa. He was seated in seat number 25 next to a man who introduced himself as Dennis.According to the investigations, the two struck up a conversation as the journey progressed, with the stranger described as “very talkative”.Their interaction appeared ordinary, with the two engaging in random conversations along the way. The journey, however, took a different turn after the bus stopped at Mtito Andei, where passengers alighted for a health break.Mr Ndolo returned to the bus with a takeaway packet of pilau, which he began eating as the journey continued.It was then that the man who had introduced himself as Dennis asked to taste the food. Mr Ndolo shared some with him.At one point, Mr Ndolo asked the man to help him retrieve his black backpack, which contained his valuables, so that he could take out a power bank and charge the iPhone 17 and Samsung A31S he was using during the journey.“I took a bite but immediately noticed something unusual about its taste,” he told police.He spat it out but soon lost consciousness. He “passed out" only to wake up in the hospital bed, at Tudor District Hospital in Mombasa.Makupa police station. Ndolo arrived at the station, staggering and struggling to explain what had happened to him.At about 6.30am the same day, officers at Makupa Police Station were alerted to a man who had arrived at the station staggering and struggling to explain what had happened to him.He was found lying on a waiting bench, appearing sleepy and physically weak. With no identification documents and nobody accompanying him to explain his condition, officers rushed him to Tudor District Hospital.Also Read: Police target Eldoret ‘mchele’ gangs after Asbel Kiprop drugged, robbed in clubAt the hospital, his condition deteriorated and he became unresponsive to touch and speech, with his eyes remaining closed.“Medics put him on a drip and administered treatment to restore his responsiveness,” said Mr Bernard Mumo, the investigating officer.It was later in the afternoon that Mr Ndolo regained his speech, opened his eyes and was able to sit up and recount the events leading to his hospitalisation. That was when he discovered the extent of his losses.Among the missing items were his Kenyan passport bearing a valid UK visa, Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro, laptop, folio keyboard, stylus, three magnetic power banks, charging equipment, three USB cables, three mobile phones and driving licence.His belongings also included university and bank cards, as well as £2,975 (Sh512,533) in cash. Police placed the approximate value of the stolen property and money at Sh2 million.After Mr Ndolo was discharged, his relatives helped him report the matter, setting in motion an investigation that would eventually lead detectives from his missing iPhone to the two suspects.Police first visited the Greenline Royal bus offices in Mombasa to establish the identity of the passenger who had been seated next to Mr Ndolo. Passenger records showed the name Dennis Otieno and a telephone number, although the number had been switched off.

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Nation

Raila’s anniversary, Ruto alliance, party divisions: Oburu returns to a full in-tray

ODM Party Leader Oburu Oginga at Lake Naivasha Resort during a broad-based Government retreat on August 10, 2026. He is back in the country after a three-week stay in the UK for medical attention.Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader Dr Oburu Oginga is back in the country after a three-week stay in the United Kingdom for medical attention.He returns to a busy political and party calendar that will place him at the centre of events marking the first anniversary of the death of his younger brother, Raila Odinga.Dr Oginga returned to the country last Friday, September 25, with the party announcing his return the following day and saying the Siaya Senator was ready to resume his responsibilities.His return comes at a critical moment for ODM which has lined up a month-long programme to honour Raila, its founding leader, as it navigates a changed political landscape following his death in India on October 15, 2025.Dubbed “Mwezi wa Baba”, the programme will begin on Friday, October 2, with a nationwide candle-lighting ceremony and include rallies and memorial activities in different parts of the country before culminating in Nairobi on October 31.Dr Oginga therefore returns to a party preparing for one of its most politically significant periods since Raila's death.During his absence, ODM has operated under the stewardship of National Chairperson Gladys Wanga, who has led a series of activities, including mobilisation in the Maa community and Nyanza.His absence was particularly conspicuous during President William Ruto's recent five-day tour of Nyanza, where Ms Wanga and other senior ODM officials accompanied the President and openly backed the broad-based government arrangement.The tour provided a snapshot of the political direction taken by a section of ODM under Dr Oginga's leadership since Raila's death.Ms Wanga told President Ruto during the tour that almost the entire ODM leadership in Nyanza was present, with only one senior leader missing — an apparent reference to Dr Oginga, who was then in the UK.President Ruto used the tour to emphasise his relationship with ODM and his intention to continue working with the party as part of the broad-based government.“I want to assure you, as the national leader and as a student of the late Raila Odinga, that we will walk together. ODM and UDA are not competitors; they are partners in the broad-based government,” Dr Ruto said in Kisumu.ODM party leader Dr Oburu Oginga. He is in the United Kingdom for medical attention.Dr Oginga's return now gives him an opportunity to take charge of the party's affairs as debate over ODM's future intensifies.ODM has planned activities across several regions, beginning with the October 2 candle-lighting ceremony. The party will hold a major memorial rally in Kakamega on October 9, followed by activities led by the Raila family between October 10 and 15.The main memorial service is scheduled for Kang'o Ka Jaramogi in Bondo on October 15, exactly one year after Raila's death.The programme will then move to Garissa on October 17, the Coast on October 18 and 19, Kajiado on October 21 and Turkana between October 23 and 25 before concluding with a major rally in Nairobi on October 31.The anniversary preparations have, however, also exposed differences over who should lead the commemoration.Raila's widow, Mama Ida Odinga, has separately established a national steering committee to coordinate family-led celebrations.The committee, chaired by Prof Adams Oloo and deputised by Rarieda MP Dr Otiende Amollo, brings together representatives from government, political institutions, civil society, academia, the private sector and the Odinga family.Mama Ida said the celebrations would be about the people who loved Raila and that the family would retain a central role in determining partnerships and activities.“This celebration does not belong to the committee; it belongs to the people. Baba's people are all welcome,” she said.The family committee's programme is expected to run from October 10 to 17, overlapping with ODM's own month-long calendar.The parallel preparations have raised questions over the ownership and character of the anniversary, with ODM and the family organising separate programmes to honour the former Prime Minister.For Dr Oginga, therefore, the anniversary season will be both commemorative and politically consequential.Raila's death left ODM facing the difficult task of redefining itself without the politician who had dominated its identity for decades.Mama Ida Odinga and Siaya Senator Oburu Oginga during Raila Odinga’s funeral in Bondo, Siaya County.Dr Oginga, Raila's elder brother, took over the leadership of the party amid competing views about its political direction.The party has since become divided between leaders supporting continued cooperation with President Ruto under the broad-based government and those who have joined the Linda Mwananchi movement and positioned themselves in opposition.

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Nation

Dutchman, Kenyan woman clash over Sh2.2m ‘love’ gift ends in court

The heart of the dispute is an alleged unfulfilled promise to marry, occupation of the house by another man, police bribery and a fight over recovery of the money.A Dutchman’s four-year relationship with a Kenyan woman has ended in a court battle over gifts, including Sh2.2 million he says he sent towards development of a matrimonial home they were to share as a couple after marriage.But the woman, Ms SL, says the money was voluntarily given as gifts during their relationship and denies promising to marry the foreign national, Mr BD, or build a matrimonial house with him.The heart of the dispute is an alleged unfulfilled promise to marry, occupation of the house by another man, police bribery and a fight over recovery of the money.The dispute has since moved from the failed relationship to a criminal case in which Ms SL is accused of cheating and obtaining the money through trickery and a civil suit in which Mr BD is seeking Sh2.4 million compensation and recovery of a three-bedroom storey building from Ms SL in Vikwathani, Bamburi, Mombasa.The High Court on Friday dismissed Ms SL’s attempt to stop the criminal proceedings, leaving the competing accounts of the relationship, money and property to be dealt with in the cases before the magistrate courts.According to Ms SL’s account, the relationship began after Mr BD pursued her through relatives from 2019. She described him as a Dutch citizen who visits Kenya about once a year.From late 2020 to mid-2023, she said, Mr BD used to send her money through M-Pesa, often Sh100, Sh200 or Sh1,000 for airtime or lunch "as his intended girlfriend". She said Sh70,000 was also sent for the burial of Mr BD’s father, while other amounts were used to roof his own house at Likoni. She said they first met in person towards the end of 2022.However, the prosecution gave a different account. The DPP said Mr BD told police investigators that their relationship began in 2019, he proposed marriage and they agreed to build a home together.The criminal charge states that between May 25, 2020 and February 13, 2024, Ms SL allegedly obtained Sh2.2 million by pretending she would build a matrimonial house for them.Ms SL said the relationship had already changed. In September 2023, she told Mr BD she intended to marry another man.She said he did not take the news well, and that he threatened her and later went to her home with others and caused disturbance demanding the return of what he had bought her.She denied agreeing to marry him or build a matrimonial home, saying the Vikwathani house was hers and had been built using her own resources on a plot next to her mother’s house.Her case is that the money was given voluntarily as gifts within a domestic relationship and that receiving it was no crime. She says Mr BD would not accept the end of the relationship, and that he used the police and the prosecution to pressure her into marrying him and to punish her when she married someone else. Mr BD, however, denied that narrative and told the court that they agreed to marry and build a home together. He said he sent her money from the Netherlands to buy land and fund construction, with transaction records showing remittances exceeding Sh2 million. He said his suspicions arose in February 2024 when he visited the property and found Ms SL living there with another man, who chased him away from the house he believed he had helped finance. He said their relationship began in 2019 after he pursued Ms SL through relatives.The criminal complaint followed after the man complained to the police the Ms SL had defrauded him. He recorded a statement describing a relationship that began in 2019, his proposal of marriage, and a joint decision to build a home, for which he sent money for the purchase of the plot and for construction. Ms SL said she was arrested at her Vikwathani home on February 29, 2024 by officers from Shelly Beach Police Station.She said she was released on a Sh20,000 police bond after a prosecutor advised the parties to negotiate, but was re-arrested on March 6 and charged the following day after another prosecutor approved the charge. She spent eight days in remand at Shimo La Tewa.In addition, she alleged that Mr BD boasted of having bribed the police, the prosecution and even the courts, and there are audio recordings of this and of the investigating officer admitting that the case is not criminal. The High Court found that the recordings had not been produced, transcribed or authenticated. “This court cannot act on evidence that a party says exists but has chosen not to produce,” Justice Ngaah Jairus said.The judge rejected the argument that the dispute was purely a failed relationship or property matter.“Whether the money was a gift or was obtained by a fraudulent trick is precisely the kind of disputed question of fact, which must be decided by the trial court after hearing evidence tested by cross-examination,” Justice Ngaah said.A civil case over the property was filed on May 29, 2024, after the criminal complaint and charge. Ms SL argued that the property dispute belonged in the civil court.

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