President William Ruto has stood firmly by his government’s decision to replace the Linda Mama maternity programme with the broader Linda Jamii initiative, pushing back against criticism from his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta.
Addressing students and leaders at Umma University in Kajiado County, Ruto described Linda Jamii as an upgrade designed to deliver on the country’s universal health coverage goals.
“Linda Mama was good; Linda Jamii is better. It builds on what was there but goes further. Instead of focusing only on delivery, we have expanded it to cover prenatal, delivery, and postnatal care. And importantly, it is no longer just about the mother—it is about the whole family,” he said.
The Head of State acknowledged that Linda Mama, introduced during the Jubilee administration, had laid a solid foundation, but insisted the successor programme was drawn directly from its lessons.
“We should be fair to him (Uhuru Kenyatta). Linda Mama was a strong programme and we built on it. The experience we gained from it informed the design of Linda Jamii,” Ruto added.
Under the new arrangement, the President explained, benefit packages have been expanded and payouts doubled, now ranging between Ksh10,000 and Ksh30,000.
Ruto’s remarks came just days after Uhuru publicly criticised the phasing out of Linda Mama, accusing the Kenya Kwanza government of dismantling policies that had proven successful.
The President spoke shortly after commissioning the Dr Abdulrahman Al-Sumait Complex at Umma University a 10-storey facility expected to host more than 10,000 students at a cost of Ksh1.4 billion.
