President William Ruto has responded to former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s recent remarks criticizing the Kenya Kwanza administration’s changes to the Linda Mama program.

Speaking at the Jubilee Party Special National Delegates Conference, Kenyatta accused President Ruto’s administration of dismantling key achievements from his tenure, including the maternal health initiative.

Launched in 2013, the Linda Mama program provided free health insurance for pregnant women and their newborns, offering comprehensive services from antenatal to postnatal care. However, the program has since been replaced by the Linda Jamii package under the Social Health Authority (SHA), which aims to extend coverage to entire families and enhance maternal health services.

Addressing the concerns, President Ruto, while speaking at Umma University on Tuesday, September 30, defended Uhuru and emphasized that “he learnt from Linda Mama.”

“Maybe use this occasion to the defend my former boss, the former President (Uhuru). To defend him, we should be a bit more magnanimous to him. The Linda Mama Program was a great program that we developed. Under the leadership of President Uhuru. We learnt a lot from the Linda a Mama Program,” Ruto said.