The official website of the President, president.go.ke, has been hacked, with its homepage defaced by attackers demanding a ransom in Bitcoin and posting messages targeting President William Ruto.
A check on the website on Saturday showed that the official content had been replaced with unauthorised messages directed at the Head of State.
The hackers published a cryptocurrency wallet address and demanded payment of five Bitcoins, threatening to release unspecified information if the ransom was not paid by a stated deadline.
The defaced homepage also displayed altered banner images while the official State House branding remained visible in the background.
State House confirmed it was aware of the cyberattack.
In a brief statement, officials said the matter had been referred to the government’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) team for action.
The incident has raised fresh concerns over the security of government digital infrastructure, as it remains unclear whether the breach was limited to the website’s homepage or extended to its backend systems.
Based on current cryptocurrency exchange rates, the demanded five Bitcoins are valued at approximately Sh41.3 million.
This is not the first time Kenyan government websites have been targeted by cybercriminals.
In November 2025, several government websites, including those of the State House, and the ministries responsible for Health, Education, Labour, Environment, ICT, Tourism, and Interior, were compromised in what authorities described as a coordinated cyberattack.
Authorities have not disclosed the identity of those behind the latest breach or whether any government data was accessed during the attack.
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