Kenya: Ignore Fake Memo Announcing Temporary Closure of Masinde Muliro University

What the report says

Africa Check reported on October 2, 2026, that a memo circulating on social media and claiming to be from Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) in Kenya was false. The document said the university would temporarily close and told students to leave campus because of a lecturers’ strike, which was also linked in the text to an industrial action planned by the Universities’ Academic Staff Union (UASU).

According to the fact-check, the memo appeared to carry the name of Prof. Judah Ndiku, identified as the registrar of academic affairs, and was being shared on Facebook. However, Africa Check said it found no credible reporting or official university statement supporting the claim that MMUST had ordered students to vacate the campus.

The university responded on its official Facebook page by marking the circulating memo as fake and telling the public to disregard it. The report said any genuine closure notice would be expected through the university’s official communication channels, such as its website or social media pages.

The episode matters because it shows how misleading documents can spread quickly during labour disputes and cause confusion for students and staff. More broadly, it highlights the need to verify official notices with institutional sources before acting on them.