A university professor has moved to court to fight retirement at 70, putting the Public Service Commission (PSC) directive lowering the mandatory retirement age to its first major legal test.
Prof Matthew Theuri obtained orders restraining his employer, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology, from interfering with his permanent and pensionable employment, pending the inter partes hearing of his application.
The orders were issued by Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC) Judge Agnes Kitiku Nzei after certifying Prof Theuri’s application as urgent, with the case set for mention on September 24 for further directions.
The case comes after the university allegedly sought to move Prof Theuri from his permanent and pensionable terms to a three-month contract, a move he has challenged as an attempt to effectively retire him before the court determines whether the new retirement age can lawfully be applied to him.
The suit was filed just days after an urgent application at the Court of Appeal by the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) seeking to suspend the controversial PSC circular that was issued on March 2 2026 and later amended on April 28 2026.
The disputed PSC circular, reduced the retirement age for professors from 74 years to 70 years, while senior lecturers and other academic staff are set to retire at 65 years and below, depending on their cadre.
The union had challenged the circular earlier but in a judgement on July 29 2026 by the ELRC dismissed the case paving way for the PSC to implement the policy.
The entry to Dedan Kimathi University in Nyeri County.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
The Court of Appeal is yet to give directions on UASU’s application despite it being filed as urgent
Prof Theuri, in court documents, notes the university's Human Resources Department communicated on August 28 2026 that he was to be appointed or retained on a three-month contract.
The professor argues that the proposed contract would replace or supersede his existing permanent and pensionable employment and would fundamentally alter his job security, continuity of service, remuneration, pension rights and other accrued employment benefits.
He says he did not consent to the proposed arrangement, sign the new contract or resign from his position. Instead, he sought legal advice and moved to court to preserve his employment pending determination of the dispute.
In his application, the professor argues that DeKUT had previously informed him that his applicable retirement age had been revised upward from 70 to 74 years.
He says the university communicated the change to him in a letter dated April 28, 2025, creating an expectation that he would remain in employment until he attained 74, subject to the applicable law and terms of service.
He faulted the university for relying on the subsequent PSC circular prescribing a mandatory retirement age of 70, according to the court documents.
Prof Theuri argues that the circular cannot be applied retrospectively to extinguish or interfere with rights he had already accrued under his employment contract without clear lawful authority.
He has raised questions over breach of contract, unlawful variation of employment terms, threatened unlawful termination, legitimate expectation, fair labour practices and fair administrative action.
“Section 10(5) of the Employment Act, requires an employer, before effecting changes to the particulars of employment contract , to consult the employee and notify the employee of the change in writing,” noted His lawyer Titus Koceyo in court filings.
The lawyer argues that Prof Theuri had neither been consulted nor consented to the proposed fundamental changes to his terms of service.
He further invoked Article 41 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to fair labour practices, as well as Article 47 on fair administrative action.
The case also introduces a salary dispute, with Prof Theuri claiming that the university had indicated it would not pay his August salary despite him remaining in employment and being ready and willing to perform his duties.
He argues that withholding his salary, alongside the threatened change in his employment status, would cause him serious prejudice by disrupting his accrued employment, pension and retirement rights before the court could hear the substantive dispute.
The dispute comes at a time when public universities are struggling to maintain adequate academic staffing levels, with dons warning that implementation of the PSC policy could deepen the shortage and undermine the quality of teaching.
The entrance to the University of Nairobi.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Already, the University of Nairobi (UoN) has warned it is staring at another 40 percent reduction of its academic workforce translating to about 480 lecturers, leaving the university with only around 800 lecturers
UASU-UoN secretary general Prof George Osanjo said the university's academic workforce has already contracted sharply over the past six years from 2000 in 2026 to the current 1,200.
Dr Stephen Onyango, the UASU Maseno University chapter secretary said the university could potentially lose half of its academic staff if the PSC circular is effected.
