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President Ruto’s official website hacked
President William Ruto speaks during the opening of the 19th Ambassadors Conference at Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi on March 28, 2026.
The official website of the President of Kenya has been hacked, Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communication and the Digital Economy, William Kabogo, has confirmed.
The homepage of president.go.ke was defaced with derogatory messages aimed at President William Ruto.
In a statement, Kabogo said access to the site was temporarily restricted while technical teams worked to restore normal operations and secure the platform.
“As a precautionary measure, access to the Presidential website was temporarily restricted to facilitate containment, forensic analysis and restoration efforts,” Mr Kabogo said.
However, the CS said that there was no unauthorised access to sensitive data or loss of information, adding that government systems were unaffected by the breach.
“At this time, there is no evidence of unauthorised access to sensitive data, data exfiltration, or loss of information. Government systems and digital services remain secure and operational,” he said.
The messages displayed on the website included a Bitcoin wallet address and a demand for payment.
The hackers claimed they would release unspecified information if their demands were not met.
"This message is the third time for you; before we leak everything about you. Do a payment of 5 bitcoins to the Bitcoin wallet...," the message on the defaced homepage read.
The main banner had been altered to display the hackers' message, which also referenced the names of three individuals.
If the government were to honour the ransom demand, the Treasury would have to part with approximately Sh41.3 million, based on the prevailing exchange rate of about Sh8.27 million for one Bitcoin, making the demanded five Bitcoins worth roughly Sh41, 337,872.
Head of Presidential Communication Service Munyori Buku and State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohammed and did not respond to calls and text messages seeking comment on the cyberattack, the extent of the breach or efforts to restore the presidential website by the time of publication.
Previous incidents
This is not the first time government websites have fallen victim to cyberattacks. Last year, multiple platforms, including the presidential website and those of the Interior, ICT, Education, and Labour ministries, were compromised.
The breaches disrupted online services, with official content replaced by unauthorised messages and several portals rendered inaccessible. The November 17, 2025 incident left key departments such as Immigration, the Directorate of Public-Private Partnerships, and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) offline for much of the day.
Other critical services, including the Hustler Fund, Government Press, and Nairobi City County, were also affected.
In July 2023, the government suffered another high-profile attack targeting the eCitizen platform, which saw access to more than 5,000 government services from ministries, county governments and agencies paralysed.
A Sudanese hacker group later claimed responsibility, saying they had taken down a number of Kenyan websites, including several major companies, to protest what they described as Kenya's interference in Sudan’s affairs.
According to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), the period between July and September 2023 saw 842 cyber threat events. Most of the attacks exploited system vulnerabilities.
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