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Old Citizen TV report used to claim the 2025 university lecturers’ strike has been called off

IN SHORT: According to an image circulating on social media in Kenya, Citizen TV reported that the university’s staff union has called off the ongoing 2025 lecturers’ strike. However, the news report is from November 2024.

“UASU calls off lecturers’ strike that lasted for 24 days,” reads the text at the bottom of an image posted on Facebook on 10 October 2025.

The image appears to be from the 9pm news broadcast on Citizen TV, a popular Kenyan news station with a nationwide reach. It features Citizen TV news anchor Lillian Muli.

The Universities Academic Staff Union, or UASU, is a labour union representing academic staff in public universities and colleges in Kenya.

Public university lecturers have been on strike since 17 September 2025, protesting the government’s failure to honour previous financial agreements. 

On 19 September, the labour relations court suspended the strike, ordering the union and the government to come to a resolution. However, on 13 October, UASU officials walked out of negotiations after both parties failed to reach a resolution.

The image has also been posted here and here.

But did Citizen TV really report that the UASU had called off the lecturers’ strike? We checked.

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Image from old broadcast

On 15 October, following the failed mediation talks, the high court gave the government and the union 10 working days to reach a resolution. Meanwhile, the university lecturers’ strike is expected to continue until the court delivers judgment on other parts of the case on 11 December. 

There are no credible media reports from Citizen TV or any other media houses on the union calling off the strike.

reverse image search revealed that the circulating image was old. The results led us to a Citizen TV report on a previous university lecturers’ strike in November 2024.

The circulating image is from a 2024 broadcast, not 2025.

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