For Kenya’s top medical researchers, the clock no longer stops at 65.

In a precedent-setting ruling delivered on Monday, the Employment and Labour Relations Court declared that senior scientists at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) operating under an academic partnership with JKUAT are entitled to the same 74-year retirement age as university professors.

The decision effectively voids the institute’s internal mandatory exit policy for this cadre of staff, marking a significant victory for the retention of specialized intellectual capital in the public sector.

The Clash of Policies

The legal battle centered on a conflict between KEMRI’s internal Human Resource Manual and the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) held by the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU).

Under KEMRI’s 2019 HR policy, specifically Clause 13.1.1 (C), scientists were required to down their tools at age 65. However, the CBA negotiated between UASU and the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum (IPUCCF) sets the retirement bar significantly higher to retain scarce academic talent.

According to the union's agreement, the retirement age is tiered based on rank:

• 74 Years: Professors, Associate Professors, and Senior Lecturers.
• 65 Years: Staff below the rank of Senior Lecturer.

The petitioner, Dr. Shadrack Muya—a JKUAT employee and UASU Chapter Secretary—argued that KEMRI scientists teaching and supervising students under the collaboration agreement were effectively academic staff. Therefore, forcing them out at 65 was a violation of their labor rights.

Protecting 'Legitimate Expectations'

Justice Hellen Wasilwa, in her judgment, sided with the union, emphasizing that the collaborative agreement created a binding legal relationship that superseded internal policy.

“The petitioner avers that the professor scientists had a legitimate expectation to work until they attained the age of 74 per the CBA duly registered and binding between all parties herein,” Justice Wasilwa noted in her ruling.

She consequently declared the specific clause in KEMRI’s HR policy “unconstitutional, null and void” to the extent that it contradicted the union agreement.

This ruling is expected to have immediate ripples across Kenya’s state corporations, particularly those that rely on dual-role professionals who bridge the gap between research and academia. By aligning KEMRI’s top minds with university standards, the court has signaled that specialized experience should be valued over bureaucratic age limits.