JULY 3 – Moi University has revived plans to downsize its workforce after a court allowed it to restart a redundancy process aimed at reducing the institution’s ballooning wage bill and restoring its financial stability.
Appearing before a National Assembly committee, Acting Vice-Chancellor Kiplagat Kotut said the exercise is expected to cut the university’s monthly payroll by about Sh100 million.
Kotut told lawmakers the university has already secured government approval and funding through the Supplementary Budget for the 2025/26 financial year to implement the rightsizing programme.
The university had initiated a redundancy exercise in 2025, but the process was halted after the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) and the Kenya University Staff Union (KUSU) challenged it in court.
According to Kotut, the court in July 2025 ordered the withdrawal of redundancy notices but allowed the institution to begin the process afresh in compliance with the law.
He added that another court case involving 40 employees is yet to be determined, with the university awaiting the outcome before making payments to the affected staff if it succeeds.
As part of efforts to reduce personnel costs, Moi University has also seconded 56 employees to Kabarnet University College following its gazettement, a move expected to lower the institution’s monthly wage bill by about Sh11 million.
The university is also encouraging other public universities seeking to recruit staff to prioritise employees from Moi University.
Kotut further appealed for an additional Sh6.67 billion in recurrent funding to cater for the 2026/27 payroll, commitments under the 2024 Return-to-Work Formula, payroll deductions, unremitted staff loans and outstanding pension contributions.
