A post appeared briefly on former Kenyan prime minister Raila Odinga’s verified X account on September 18, promoting a new cryptocurrency named Kenya Token ($KENYA). The message, which was soon deleted, claimed the token would launch shortly and place Kenya at the forefront of Africa’s crypto revolution. Alongside the text was a video seemingly showing Odinga endorsing this digital currency.
The post read,
We are pleased to announce that [Kenya] token will soon launch. Kenya is stepping up to lead Africa into the crypto revolution, embracing digital finance and shaping a more crypto-friendly future
However, Odinga has yet to make any official statement, and reports suggest the promotion was unauthorized, with the video being a fabricated deepfake.
A similar event occurred earlier this year in Tanzania, where billionaire Mohammed Dewji’s X account was compromised to promote a counterfeit token called $Tanzania. A fabricated video showed Dewji apparently backing the scam, and despite swift account recovery and warnings, nearly $1.48 million had already been defrauded.
It was later revealed that the team behind Kenya Token unveiled a basic version of their website last Thursday, branding it as the “official digital token” of Kenya. The platform promised staking options, allowing investors to hold the token and earn interest. Currently, as at the time this report was published, the associated Telegram group has around 1,620 participants, but as the token is yet to launch officially, no contract address exists, making actual adoption difficult to measure.
Many experts have dismissed the venture as fraudulent, due to lack of any prior activity before September 17, suggesting it was hastily assembled without meaningful groundwork. It remains uncertain if those managing the token still control Odinga’s X profile to further manipulate public perception.
According to 2024 data from Chainalysis, high-yield promises are a frequent lure in crypto scams, with nearly half arising from projects offering unrealistic rewards with no practical utility. Other common deceitful methods include pig-butchering and rug pulls.
Kenya has also been embroiled in controversy over another similarly named token. On July 11, anonymous developers introduced the Kenya Digital Token (KDT or $KDT), portraying it as a means for civic engagement and allowing participants to “buy into Kenyan heritage”. From the outset, skepticism arose due to the absence of a white paper or pre-sale, critical tools investors use to assess projects.
An anonymous insider stated that when the token launched in July, there were clear warning signs like no white paper and bot activity. He added that the crypto community alerted these issues, pushing the developers to stay active in forums and gradually make improvements to gain credibility.
The KDT team later published a white paper, framing the token as a non-investment venture that lets users earn tokens by engaging in community activities like scanning QR posters, participating in educational drives, or sharing updates online, with earnings vested over 36 months. Nonetheless, these tokens are also available for purchase on decentralized exchanges, effectively making them speculative assets, which critics argue may be a tactic to sidestep regulatory oversight while permitting market trading.
$KDT operates reveals modest usage, with around 2,800 holders, under $200,000 in liquidity, and a total token supply of one million. A red flag is the concentration of 60% of tokens in a single wallet, a classic indicator of potential rug-pull risk if the holder dumps a large stake after price increases, possibly causing investors significant losses.
These events emphasize the risks inherent in the crypto market worldwide, particularly where regulation remains limited. The Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) Bill in Kenya, designed to regulate the sector extensively is due for its second parliamentary reading on September 23 as lawmakers return from recess.
