Moi University has moved to revive its redundancy programme aimed at reducing its rising wage bill and stabilising its financial position.The institution has been granted approval by the court to restart the job-cutting process after earlier attempts were halted due to legal challenges from staff unions.

According to Acting Vice-Chancellor Kiplagat Kotut, the planned restructuring is expected to reduce the university’s monthly payroll by approximately Sh100 million, easing pressure on its strained finances.

Kotut informed the National Assembly committee that the university has already secured government backing through the Supplementary Budget for the 2025/2026 financial year, which will support the implementation of the rightsizing exercise.

The university had initially launched a redundancy programme in 2025, but it was suspended following court action by the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) and the Kenya University Staff Union (KUSU).A court ruling in July 2025 later allowed the institution to restart the process, provided it complies with legal requirements.

However, another ongoing court case involving 40 employees remains unresolved, and the university is waiting for its outcome before making any payments to affected staff should it proceed with retrenchment.

In addition to layoffs, Moi University has seconded 56 employees to Kabarnet University College after its official gazettement, an arrangement expected to reduce the wage bill by about Sh11 million monthly.The institution is also encouraging other public universities recruiting staff to consider hiring from its workforce.At the same time, the university has appealed for an additional Sh6.

67 billion in recurrent funding to meet payroll obligations, implement the 2024 Return-to-Work Formula commitments, and clear outstanding deductions, staff loans, and pension arrears.The measures reflect ongoing financial strain within Kenya’s public university sector.