The top 10 Google searches by Kenyans were dominated by prominent personalities who passed on in July, including Kibra MP Ken Okoth and Kenyan football legend Joe Kadenge.
The late Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore was the number one trending search on Google in Kenya in the month of July. The Guyanese-born British businessman served as the boss of the telco for 9 years before succumbing to cancer on the morning of 1st July 2019 as reported by The Sauce.
The football match between Everton and Kariobangi Sharks came second. Sharks beat the English Premier League team on penalties and won the SportPesa Cup at the Moi International Sports Center in Kasarani.
The third trending item was the late Kibra MP Ken Okoth, who died on the 26th of July 2019 at the Nairobi Hospital after a long battle with colon cancer, as reported by The Sauce.
Former KTN news anchor Esther Arunga was fourth after she was sentenced to 10 months in jail and immediately released on parole in a case involving the death of her son. According to The Sauce, Arunga lied about the circumstances under which her son suffered fatal injuries at a family home where she lived with her husband, Quincy Timberlake, in Brisbane, Australia, in June 2014.
The fifth trending item was the FaceApp application. FaceApp is a free app on both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store with an age filter that makes people in photos look much older. However as reported by The Sauce, the creators of the app were accused of violating the privacy of users.
Kenyan socialite Vera Sidikia came in sixth. Vera who has been very vocal about using skin lightening products shocked Kenyans after she posted a picture of herself looking darker than usual and as reported by The Sauce went on to release her second single dubbed ‘Mimi’. She later flaunted her new Tanzanian boyfriend Dr. Jimmy Chansa who is also a musician on Instagram which led to alot more people being interested in her love life.
Cancer was the seventh trending search. This is after several prominent people in Kenya succumbed to the disease, which has now become the third leading cause of death in Kenya.
Kirinyaga governor, Anne Waiguru, who tied the knot to city lawyer Kamotho Waiganjo, and her wedding was the eighth trending search.
Sodium Metabisulfite made to number nine after a detailed expose by NTV’s Dennis Okari revealed how supermarkets and butchers were selling meat laced with it.
The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) football tournament, which concluded in July with the final game between Senegal and Algeria, rounded up the top 10 listings.
Other Trending personalities included Ukur Yatani, the late Disney star Cameron Boyce, Bob Collymore’s widow Wambui Kamiru, former Treasury CS Henry Rotich, Dennis Itumbi and acting Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph.
