The Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy has confirmed a cybersecurity incident that affected the official website of the President, president.go.ke, on Saturday, July 18, 2026.
In a statement issued by Cabinet Secretary William Kabogo Gitau, the government revealed that hackers managed to compromise the presidential website and replace its homepage with unauthorised content.
Reports indicate that the attackers posted insulting messages targeting President William Ruto and demanded payment of five Bitcoins approximately KSh41.3 million with a threat to release undisclosed information if the ransom was not paid by 6pm.
Upon detection of the breach, the ICT Authority immediately activated established cybersecurity incident response protocols. As a precautionary measure, access to the Presidential website was temporarily restricted to facilitate containment, forensic analysis and restoration efforts.
Cabinet Secretary Kabogo assured Kenyans that appropriate mitigation measures have since been implemented and restoration of the website is currently underway.
He emphasised that 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.
The ICT Authority is working closely with relevant government agencies and technical partners to conduct a comprehensive forensic investigation and establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.
This latest breach comes just months after a coordinated cyberattack in November 2025 affected multiple government websites, including those of several ministries and State House.
Visitors to the presidential website at the time of publication were met with a maintenance message indicating the site would be back online shortly.
The government has not yet disclosed how long the website will remain inaccessible as investigations continue.
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