Saturday, July 18, 2026 - Kenya’s presidential website, president.go.ke, was hijacked in a daring cyberattack that defaced its homepage with inflammatory messages targeting President William Ruto.
The attackers demanded a ransom of five bitcoins, valued at
approximately Ksh41.3 million, warning they would leak unspecified information
if payment was not made by 6 p.m.
Visitors to the site were greeted with a chilling message.
“This message is the third time for you; before we leak everything about you.
“Do a payment of 5 bitcoins… If you want peace
before 6 o’clock this evening.”
The hackers also embedded a cryptocurrency wallet address
and altered the site’s banner to reference three individuals, while the
official State House branding remained faintly visible.
State House confirmed it was aware of the breach, noting its ICT team was working to restore the site and secure government systems.
The incident has reignited concerns about the vulnerability of government digital systems, especially after a string of attacks last November.
Then, websites belonging to ministries and state agencies, including
Health, Education, Labour, Environment, ICT, Tourism, and Interior, were
compromised in a coordinated assault.
Those disruptions replaced official content with extremist slogans and unauthorized messages, leaving several portals inaccessible and disrupting vital online services.
The
Kenyan DAILY POST.
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