President William Ruto has sided with his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta, over his remarks on the Linda Mama programme, stating that it set the stage for broader reforms in the maternal sector.

While speaking at Umma University on Wednesday, September 30, 2025, Ruto stated that it was important to recognise Uhuru’s contribution through the Linda Mama initiative.

He noted that the programme was a great step under the Jubilee administration and laid the foundation for further improvements.

“Let me come to the defence of my former boss, the former president Uhuru, to defend him that we should be magnanimous to him. He, at times, led our country, and the Linda Mama programme was a great programme. We developed it under the Jubilee administration, under the leadership of President Uhuru.” Ruto said

According to the Head of State, lessons learnt from Linda Mama informed the design of the Linda Jamii programme, which he described as a significant improvement. Unlike Linda Mama, which mainly focused on delivery services for mothers, Linda Jamii covers a broader scope, including prenatal and postnatal care. It now targets not only mothers but also children and entire households.

Ruto explained that the benefits under Linda Jamii have also expanded, with figures increasing from 2000 to about 2,500 under Linda Mama to the current 10,000. He emphasised that while Linda Mama was a good programme, Linda Jamii is better structured and has been further advanced into a pathway toward universal health coverage.

Uhuru’s Linda Jamii criticism

These come days after former president Uhuru Kenyatta criticised the current regime for abolishing the Linda Mama programme, which was a highlight of his administration.

While speaking during the Jubilee NDC on Friday, September 26, 2025, he labelled the current Linda Jamii programme by Kenya Kwanza as an untried and untested scheme, which has left many dead as they wait for it to work.

“Today, many of the gains we had in the past have been eroded; Linda Mama and others have been replaced by new, untried and untested schemes. And while we wait for these experiments to work, Kenyans suffer, and our progress is retarded,” he said.