Police Violently Disperse Protesting Lecturers Along Parliament Road
In an attempt to disperse university lecturers marching towards Parliament on Monday, police fired tear gas canisters.
The lecturers, represented by their trade union, the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU), were marching to Parliament to present petitions on a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that they had signed with the government but had not been implemented.
As the smoke from the tear gas canisters filled the air, the university dons were forced to flee and seek shelter.
The dons under their unions, Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) and Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU) had also planned to march to the Treasury and Ministry of Education offices within the CBD to present a petition over the delay to finalise the 2021-2025 CBA.
Chaos, teargas and running battles as police battle striking lectures in Nairobi CBD pic.twitter.com/WmMbUTZov6
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) September 23, 2024
Police tear gas striking lecturers who were peacefully marching to parliament pic.twitter.com/1Wdsr7I9Mn
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) September 23, 2024
Businesses and residents alike were caught up in the standoff after being forced to flee as a result of tear gas smoke in the air.
A video posted by Citizen TV‘s X handle of people in Nairobi’s Central Business District running away with their noses covered, questioning 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 union employees were also arrested during the strike, with videos from the scene showing police forcibly arresting a female employee at the Ministry of Education offices before banging 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.
Police arrest several striking lecturers in Nairobi CBD pic.twitter.com/5o7asc19LG
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) September 23, 2024
Following the government’s failure to honour their part of the CBA, the lecturers launched a nationwide strike.
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On September 18, 2024, the Employment and Labour Relations Court ordered lecturers to end their strike and return to work immediately after learning was disrupted in public universities across the country.
The court ordered that the strike be ended immediately and that the parties involved begin negotiations while the case is being heard in court.
Justice Jacob Gakeri allowed the University Unions and the Ministry of Education seven days to respond to the application. The matter will be discussed on October 2 for further guidance.
The unions had yet to issue a statement regarding the incident at the time of publication.
Police Violently Disperse Protesting Lecturers Along Parliament Road
