The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) found itself trending for all the wrong reasons on October 31, after its official @KRACare account on X (formerly Twitter) was hacked and repurposed under the new name “Standx.”

Confirming the breach through its main corporate account @KRACorporate, the taxman issued a cheeky yet urgent warning to Kenyans, posting a stick-figure image with the caption:

“Poleni wadau, tumefanyiwa ile kitu — wametu hack, but tuna solve.”

The humorous tone couldn’t mask the seriousness of the situation. In a follow-up statement, KRA urged the public not to engage, share personal information, or send money to the compromised account, assuring citizens that it was working closely with X to regain control.

“Members of the public are strongly warned not to engage, share personal information, or send money to any messages or posts from this account, as they are fraudulent,” read part of the official statement.

A PR Nightmare Amid Tragedy

The timing of the cyberattack couldn’t have been worse. It comes just a day after tragedy struck at KRA’s Lake Basin Mall offices in Kisumu, where a roads company engineer reportedly took his own life over a KSh 300 million tax demand.

According to witnesses, the man handed over his car keys to security guards—asking them to give the vehicle to his son—before the fatal plunge. While KRA has confirmed investigations are underway, the lack of clear information has fuelled widespread speculation.

The online response was swift—and cutting. Many Kenyans flooded social media with sarcastic comments, poking fun at the irony of a tax agency responsible for national revenue collection falling victim to a digital theft.

One user quipped:

“Good to see @KRACorporate knows how it feels to be robbed. Welcome to the taxpayers’ daily experience.”

Others used memes and jokes to question KRA’s cybersecurity preparedness, while a few called for more serious reforms within the agency.

As KRA scrambles to recover its hacked account and restore public trust, one thing is clear — in the digital age, even the taxman isn’t safe from being taxed by hackers.