Kenya President William Ruto's website hacked, hackers demand 5 Bitcoin

On Saturday, July 18, 2026, the official website of Kenya’s President William Ruto (president.go.ke) was defaced after a cyberattack. Hackers replaced the homepage with messages targeting the president and posted a cryptocurrency wallet address, demanding a ransom of five bitcoins—roughly €280,000 or about KSh41 million.

Kenyan Information, Communications and the Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary William Kabogo Gitau confirmed the incident, saying that the ICT Authority immediately restricted access to contain the breach and began forensic analysis. Authorities stated there is no evidence that sensitive data was accessed or exfiltrated and that government digital services remain secure. The site was taken offline while restoration work proceeds, and a formal investigation is under way.

The breach follows a wave of cyber‑crime across Africa; Interpol earlier warned of a sharp rise in attacks targeting government and critical infrastructure. Kenya also experienced a coordinated hack of several ministries in November 2025, highlighting growing vulnerability of digital government platforms.