A flashy new token launch in Kenya has ended in embarrassment after it was linked to a hacked account and a deepfake video scam of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
The clip, which briefly went up on his X account, appeared to show him endorsing the project. Within hours, Kenyans online were able to point out the obvious signs of AI trickery.
The video was pulled down, but not before it had stirred confusion and attracted curious investors.
People online quickly flagged the whole thing as shady, especially since there was no matching statement from official channels. It did not take long for blockchain sleuths to confirm their suspicions.
Data showed that close to 20% of the token supply had been scooped up right after launch by a group of linked wallets. The project had marketed these holdings as being “for the people,” but on closer inspection, they looked privately controlled, the kind of setup that usually ends in a rug pull.
The name did not help either. The scam project branded itself in a way that sounded a lot like Kenya Digital Token, an entirely different initiative tied to government discussions.
That overlap made it easier to mislead people into thinking the token had official backing. Even the legitimate Kenya Digital Token has faced criticism, with experts pointing out questionable wallet concentration.
By the time the dust settled, the scam token had already lost momentum, but it’s expected that the damage was done. It showed just how quickly fraudsters can use deepfakes and hijacked accounts to pump up a coin.
