KEMRI-JKUAT collaboration secures court ruling to protect senior scientists from early retirement
Following the court’s ruling, KEMRI scientists can now continue serving until 74, aligning their terms of service with university faculty.
Scientists at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) have won a court case extending their retirement age from 65 to 74 years, bringing it in line with their counterparts in Kenyan universities.
The ruling, delivered by Judge Hellen Wasilwa at the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nairobi, follows a petition filed by the University Academic Staff Union (UASU).
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The union argued that KEMRI scientists, through their teaching and supervision of postgraduate students at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), were effectively academic staff and should therefore benefit from the terms of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that governs university lecturers and researchers.
In her judgment, Justice Wasilwa noted that the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between KEMRI and JKUAT in 2020 required all faculty members under the arrangement to be governed by the rules and regulations applicable to substantive appointments at JKUAT.
She observed that retiring KEMRI professors at 65, while their JKUAT counterparts could remain in service until 74, constituted a breach of their labour rights. The judge consequently barred the KEMRI Board of Directors and the Public Service Commission from enforcing retirement at 65.
Earlier, UASU had petitioned the Employment and Labour Relations Court to halt KEMRI’s plan to retire senior scientists and professors before the age of 74.
Represented by Dr Shadrack Muya, the union argued that issuing retirement notices at 65 violated a CBA signed on 23 November 2024 between UASU, the Inter-Public Universities Council Consultative Forum (IPUCCF) and the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE). The agreement sets the retirement age for university lecturers, professors and research scientists at 74.
Court documents submitted by UASU stated that affected KEMRI staff were on secondment from JKUAT and were therefore subject to the terms of the CBA. The petition also referenced a circular from the Executive Office of the President dated 16 June 2025, which allows academic and research staff to serve until the age of 74.
Dr Muya further stressed that neither KEMRI nor the Public Service Commission had contested the validity of the CBA. He added that enforcing retirement at 65 would risk displacing key scientists and professors, potentially undermining ongoing research and academic programmes.
The KEMRI-JKUAT collaboration has produced more than 1,000 master’s and PhD graduates and admitted over 2,000 postgraduate students, underscoring the crucial role of senior scientists in mentoring and teaching.
Following the court’s ruling, KEMRI scientists can now continue serving until 74, aligning their terms of service with university faculty and safeguarding the continuity of research and academic programmes across the country.
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