The Fahari Ya Jamii (FYJ) project, funded by USAID and implemented by the University of Nairobi, has become a source of growing frustration and distress among staff, particularly those employed through BlumeAfrica, a sub-awardee HR firm. Staff have been subjected to abrupt terminations, unpaid dues, and confusion about their exit procedures.
According to an anonymous staff member who spoke to Cyprian Is Nyakundi, these workers are now left in a difficult situation. The source explains, “Hi Cyprian. Hide my ID. I have been an employee of FYJ, which offers HIV services to the counties of Kajiado and Nairobi. Our salaries are processed by BlumeAfrica. Recently, after Trump’s orders, we were terminated. We signed termination letters and were handed them. Twice they have extended the period. Since the return on February 19th to date, we have been paid March salaries. They also committed to paying the dues they owe us.” The staff member further shared that, despite repeated attempts to engage with FYJ management, including sending representatives to the Chief of Party and Human Resources, they have received only vague responses.
The source added, “Facility staff created a WhatsApp group to deliberate on the way forward. We raised our concerns and sent representatives to the Chief of Party (C.O.P) and HR so that our concerns could be addressed, but they have been very noncommittal.” This lack of response from the management has only added to the frustration of staff who are now forced to look for legal and labor avenues for redress.
One of the most glaring issues is the unequal treatment between University of Nairobi (UoN) staff and those employed through BlumeAfrica. UoN staff members have enjoyed continued employment with their contracts extended until June 2025, while BlumeAfrica staff have been left without pay since March 2025, with their final working day set for May 8, 2025.
As the source described, “UoN FYJ staff have received all their dues from February 2025 and have received an extension of their termination contract until end of June 2025, unlike BlumeAfrica-FYJ staff whose last working day is 8th May 2025.”Additionally, BlumeAfrica staff have been denied essential benefits that UoN staff receive, including medical cover, pensions, and gratuity. As the source pointed out, “UoN FYJ staff have a very good medical cover, a pension, gratuity, and very good salary scales, while BlumeAfrica-FYJ staff benefitted with a very simple medical cover which was stopped as from this financial year, October 2024- September 2025.” The disparity has led to immense frustration, as BlumeAfrica employees feel unfairly treated and abandoned.
Despite attempts to hold a virtual meeting with counselors from LVCT Health, to discuss their dues, management declined to join the meeting. The staff, feeling their concerns were being ignored, refused to proceed until management participated. “We demanded the FYJ management to join us, they declined since our main concern was when should we expect our dues. Since they declined to join, we also refused the meeting to proceed until they were able to join,” the source explained.
The situation at the Fahari Ya Jamii project expose a severe mismanagement, with the University of Nairobi failing to address the concerns of its staff and creating an environment of unequal treatment.
The experiences of BlumeAfrica staff reflect the broader issues of financial and emotional distress, and the refusal of management to engage or provide clear communication only deepens the crisis.
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