Former President Uhuru Kenyatta, addressing the Jubilee National Delegates Conference (NDC) on September 26, 2025, launched a strong critique against his successor, President William Ruto. Kenyatta accused the current administration of undoing significant achievements from his tenure and implementing untried and untested policies, which he claimed had led to widespread suffering and losses for Kenyans. His remarks were delivered during a gathering at Ngong Racecourse in Nairobi, where he revisited previous warnings to Kenyans regarding their 2022 political choices.

Kenyatta expressed deep frustration over the discontinuation or restructuring of flagship projects and initiatives. He specifically cited the Linda Mama program, free education, the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) corridor project, and the revival of Kisumu port as examples of crucial programs that had been undermined. He lamented that established schemes that delivered services to Kenyans were hastily replaced by new, experimental ones, thereby subjecting the populace to prolonged suffering and hindering national progress.

A central point of contention was the Linda Mama initiative, a noble program launched in 2013 to provide comprehensive free health insurance for expectant women and their newborns. This coverage encompassed antenatal care, postnatal care, infant care, immunizations, and delivery. Despite its documented successes, the program was reportedly scrapped by the current regime and replaced with a new maternal care package under the Social Health Authority (SHA). The SHA has, in turn, faced its share of controversy, including allegations of massive fraud where fraudulent facilities obtained funds without rendering services.

Kenyatta also reflected on his efforts to unite the nation through reaching out to opposition figures, an initiative often referred to as 'the handshake'. He noted that these attempts to foster greater cohesion, reduce ethnic tensions, and address social and regional inequalities were politically weaponized during the last campaigns, branded as an effort to cling to power and erode democracy. He questioned the irony, given that some of the same politicians who criticized his moves later formed broad-based governments with the opposition.

President Ruto’s allies swiftly responded to Kenyatta’s accusations. Mwala MP and UDA National Organizing Secretary Vincent Kawaya publicly stated that Kenyatta should retire honorably, asserting that the former president left behind a