Government moves all Inua Jamii payments to M-Pesa

The government has announced the migration of all Inua Jamii beneficiaries to the eCitizen M-Pesa payment platform starting with the January 2025 disbursement.

Social Protection and Senior Citizen Affairs Principal Secretary Joseph Motari on Thursday said Inua Jamii beneficiaries would begin accessing funds through M-Pesa agents by dialling the USSD code *222#.

This is under a collaboration between eCitizen, the government’s online portal for all state services, and M-Pesa parent company Safaricom.

“All beneficiaries are required to have registered Safaricom lines that match with their ID card and will be required to activate their Mpesa accounts to receive their funds,” Motari said.

The PS said current Safaricom customers only need to ensure their M-Pesa is active while those without M-Pesa are advised to register for the mobile money service.

“For further enquiries, Inua Jamii beneficiaries can visit County/Sub-county Social Development offices, County/Sub-county Children Services offices, County Disability Offices, or call Inua Jamii Toll Free line 1533,” added Motari.

The Inua Jamii programme supports over 1.7 million orphans and vulnerable children, citizens aged over 70 and persons with severe disabilities with monthly stipends to cushion them from poverty and hunger.

President William Ruto previously said the switch to M-Pesa payment aimed to save beneficiaries from travelling long distances to receive the cash, incurring attendant costs and other inconveniences. 

Initially, only orphans and caregivers of persons with severe disabilities caregivers got their Inua Jamii payments via M-Pesa while the elderly continued going to the banks every month to collect their stipends.

Last month, the government disbursed Ksh.3.517 billion, which saw each of the 1,758,735 beneficiaries get Ksh.2,000.