Obama, Pope Francis, Fidel Odinga dominate Google search

2015 has turned out to be an eventful year in Kenya. Visits by by President Obama and Pope Francis have prompted Kenyans to go online to find out more about the them and their itineraries. Google’s Year in Search 2015 reveals Barack Obama’s visit was the number one most trending event while Pope Francis visit was the second in the list of trending events.

On the general most trending searches, son of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the late Fidel Odinga, was the most trending. Fidel was also the most trending search under ‘People we lost in 2015’ after he passed away, in January, and the number one most trending Kenyan personality.

KRA’s iTax was the second most trending general search. Taxpayers visited the Kenya Revenue Authority website as they sought to familiarise themselves with the new system of filing VAT, PAYE and Income Tax returns.

Other events that made it to the top 10 include, the Garissa University attack, Teachers Strike, the Mayweather vs Pacquiao, Beatification of Sister Nyaatha, Tanzania Elections and Paris Attacks.

Kenyans also turned to the internet to get more information about local and international personalities. Fidel searches was followed by gospel artiste Gloria Muliro who was second. Third on the list was businessman, Paul Kobia, who drove Kenyans to search following his arrest by police after he claimed that he knew who and what had killed Fidel. The late George Muchai, who served as Kabete Member of Parliament (MP), was fourth on the list after he was gunned down in Nairobi, while the late Nana Gichuru – a well-known actress and blogger who died in a tragic car accident – was number five.

Google searches also revealed what Kenyans wanted to learn and know through the ‘what is’ and ‘how to’ search categories.

During the attacks of foreigners by South African nationals, Kenyans were asking; “What is xenophobia” followed by “what is beatification”. Poverty, POTUS, Ebola, climate change, ISIS and Eurobond were other areas of interests for Kenyans. Interestingly, there were also people querying, ‘What is teenage pregnancy’.

The “how to” trending searches had “How to play lotto” as number one most trending search. “How to lose belly fat”; “How to download a youtube video” even though it’s illegal because of copyright issues; “How to okoa stima”; “How to write a formal letter”; “How to practice typing on a computer”; “How to pray with the rosary”; “How to bet”; “How to convert pdf to word” and  “How to bake a simple cake”.

Trending events (Kenya)

1. President Obama visit
2. Pope Francis visit
3. Garissa University attack
4. Teachers Strike
5. Mayweather vs Pacquiao
6. Beatification of Sister Nyaatha
7. Tanzania Elections
8. Paris Attacks
9. Blood moon
10. COPA America

Most Trending general searches (Kenya)

1. Fidel Odinga
2. iTax
3. Obama
4. Pope Francis
5. Lamar Odom
6. Garissa Attack
7. Teachers strike
8. The Beast
9. Mayweather
10. Copa America

Most trending general searches  (Global)

1. Lamar Odom
2. Charlie Hebdo
3. io
4. Jurassic World
5. Paris
6. Furious 7
7. Fallout 4
8. Ronda Rousey
9. Caitlyn Jenner
10. American Sniper

Most Trending Kenyan personalities (Kenya)

1. Fidel Odinga
2. Gloria Muliro
3. Paul Kobia
4. George Muchai
5. Nana Gichuru
6. Auma Obama
7. Murimi wa Kahalf
8. Mugo wa Wairimu
9. Jackie Marimbe
10. Pastor Nganga

Most trending personalities (Global)

1. Lamar Odom
2. Ronda Rousey
3. Caitlyn Jenner
4. Adele
5. Charlie Sheen
6. Ruby Rose
7. Donald Trump
8. Sia
9. Dakota Johnson
10. Jeremy Clarkson

Trending People we lost in 2015 (Kenya)

1. Fidel Odinga
2. Muna Obiekwe
3. Bobbi Kristina
4. George Muchai
5. Nana Gichuru
6. Murimi wa Kahalf
7. Grace Ogot
8. Mzee Ojwang
9. Kimani Maruge
10. Jonah Lomu

Most Trending Music (Kenya)

1. Hello
2. Amarula
3. Nerea
4. Classic man
5. Hotline Bling
6. See you again
7. Trap Queen
8. Nae Nae
9. Bad Blood
10. One Last time

Most trending ‘What is’ general searches (Kenya)

1. What is xenophobia
2. What is beatification
3. What is poverty
4. What is POTUS
5. What is Ebola
6. What is climate change
7. What is ISIS
8. What is Eurobond
9. What is teenage pregnancy
10. What is the beast

Most trending ‘How to’ general searches (Kenya)

1. How to play lotto

2. How to lose belly fat

3. How to download a youtube video

4. How to okoa stima

5. How to write a formal letter

6. How to practice typing on a computer

7. How to pray with the rosary

8. How to bet

9. How to convert pdf to word

10. How to bake a simple cake

Global Year In Search