RUPHA chair raises concerns over Ruto’s remarks on ‘Linda Mama’ programme
By Aloys Michael, October 1, 2025The Chairperson of the Rural Private Hospitals Association of Kenya (RUPHA), Brian Lishenga, has expressed concern over President William Ruto’s recent remarks comparing the Linda Mama programme to Linda Jamii.
Speaking in an interview on a local TV station on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, Lishenga said that such comments risk downplaying the critical role Linda Mama played in maternal health care for vulnerable women in the country.
“Linda Mama served hundreds of thousands; it served hundreds of thousands of women across the country, with minimal eligibility requirements. It was for vulnerable, indigent women who only needed to prove that they are residents in Kenya,” he said.
“These are programmes for different purposes. Linda Mama was designed for social protection. The reality of the matter is that while Linda Mama made progress in social inclusion, it suffered from underfunding.”
It is worth noting that the former president, Uhuru Kenyatta, criticised the replacement of Linda Mama with untested schemes.
Lishenga also questioned the equity in reimbursement levels between different facility types.
“Does Ksh1,000 explain the difference in inputs between government facilities and private or faith-based ones? Because it does not.”
Moreover, the RUPHA boss challenged Ruto’s claims of success under the Linda Jamii programme, saying that only 41,000 women have benefited from the service.
“We are talking about hundreds of thousands of Kenyan women. If you pick a number like 5 million vulnerable Kenyans, how many are reproductive-age women? Possibly a million. So 41,000 is not a number to clap about,” he argued.
Even as he acknowledged the flaws in the defunct Linda Mama programme in terms of underfunding and verification issues, Lishenga warned against politicising maternal healthcare.
Also watch: The Ministry of Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale says Linda Mama has not been scrapped by the government.
“It was an underfunding problem; it was a verification problem. That does not mean we throw away the baby with the bathwater,” he said.
His remarks come amid growing criticism over the government’s move to transition to Linda Jamii under the Social Health Authority (SHA), saying it has increased the cost for maternal services, leaving women vulnerable, hence maternal deaths.
Ruto defends Linda Jamii
Speaking on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, at UMMA University in Kajiado County, Ruto emphasised the importance of acknowledging and appreciating past efforts that contributed to national progress, singling out the Linda Mama initiative as a stepping stone in Kenya’s universal health coverage journey.
“Because of the experiences, because of the lessons learned from the Linda Mama programme, we designed the Jamii programme, which was an improvement. So Linda Mama was good. Linda Jamii is obviously better,” Ruto explained.
Ruto went on to outline how the new Linda Jamii programme expands upon the original Linda Mama model, offering a more comprehensive approach to maternal and family health.
“We improved it in terms of scope; from just delivery, which was the primary target, we have now expanded it to cover prenatal, delivery, and postnatal care. And it is no longer just targeting Mama. It is targeting the whole jamii, the mother, the children, and the household,” he asserted.