Police on Monday fired teargas canisters at university lectures who were marching towards Parliament in an effort to disperse them.
The lecturers, under their trade union Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU), were marching to present their petitions to Parliament on a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that they had entered into with the government, which had not been implemented.
The university dons were, therefore, forced to run and seek shelter as the smoke from the teargas canisters rented the air.
The dons under their unions Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) and Kenya Universities Staff Union(KUSU), had also intended to march to Treasury and Ministry of Education offices within the CBD to present a petition over delay in finalising the 2021-2025 CBA.
Businesses and people around town were equally caught in the standoff after they were forced to run following tear gas smoke that rented the air.
Videos seen by Kenyans.co.ke showed people in Nairobi’s Central Business District running away with their noses covered as they questioned why the police were throwing teargas canisters at them.
‘’What is wrong with these people(the police),’’ a voice could be heard shouting in the middle of the confusion.
Some staff of the unions were also arrested during the strike with videos from the scene showing police forcefully arresting a female staff at the Ministry of Education offices, before bangling her in a nearby police car.
''Leave me alone, what have I done to be arrested?" The unidentified female staff could be heard pleading with the police.
The lecturers began a nationwide industrial action after the government failed to honour their part of the CBA.
This comes after the Employment and Labour Relations Court on September 18, 2024, ordered the lecturers to call off the strike and go back to work immediately after learning was interrupted in public universities across the country.
The court directed an immediate end of the strike, directing the involved parties to embark on negotiations as the matter goes through the court process.
Justice Jacob Gakeri gave the University Unions and the Ministry of Education seven days to respond to the application. The matter will be mentioned on October 2 for further directions.
The unions were yet to make a statement on the incident at the time of publishing.
