Ghana’s current President, John Mahama, became the victim of a cyber attack over the weekend when his verified X (formerly Twitter) account was hacked for 48 hours. The cybercriminals used the account to promote a fraudulent cryptocurrency project.
The breach began on Saturday and was first noticed on Sunday, when the hacked account posted endorsements for a project called Solanafrica. The posts falsely claimed that Mahama was leading the initiative to transform financial transactions across Africa using the Solana blockchain. The hackers urged Mahama’s followers to invest in the scheme, promising to revolutionize payments on the continent.
Once the breach was discovered, Mahama’s team removed the fraudulent posts, but the account continued to share crypto-related content, including teasers about the launch of a new memecoin. This incident sheds light on the rising trend of crypto scams in Africa, where digital assets are gaining popularity, but regulatory frameworks remain underdeveloped.
This is not the first such cyberattack targeting high-profile figures in Africa. In 2023, South African opposition leader Julius Malema’s account was hacked to promote a similar fraudulent token project. Nigerian businessman Tony Elumelu’s account was also compromised in 2022, pushing fake crypto giveaways.
The breach of Mahama’s account highlights the urgent need for stronger security measures and regulatory oversight to protect public figures from these growing digital threats.
