Revealed: Kenya's top Google searches in 2021

The English Premier League (EPL), Uganda elections and the Kiambaa by-election results were the top three searches on Google in Kenya this year, data released by the search giant on December 8 reveals.

In its Kenya’s Year in Search Lists, Google’s look into the year’s top trending searches discloses queries that had a high spike in traffic over the past 12 months, with politics dominating the curiosity for information.

While Kenyans’ love for the EPL topped the general trending searches as it has in the past several years, queries around President Yoweri Museveni’s re-election and his competitor’s bid for Uganda’s top office Bobi Wine came second.

It is by no surprise that the Kiambaa by-election, won by United Democratic Alliance (UDA) aspirant Njuguna Wanjiku on July 16 came third, in a political duel against Jubilee’s Kariri Kiama closely monitored by Kenyans, perhaps a measure of popularity between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto in the constituency.

Independent Elections and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) came fourth in the general national Google searches. President Kenyatta finally moved to fill the four vacancies at the electoral commission, more than two years after they occurred on April 16.

Kazi Mtaani

The previous day, April 15, IEBC had said it would upgrade the IT system that botched the 2017 General Elections.  On November 29, IEBC pulled out of the 2022 Election Preparedness Committee citing infringement of its independence.

The fifth trending query was Kazi Mtaani, a government initiative created to cushion the most vulnerable youth in the informal settlements from the effects of the Covid- 19 pandemic.

The objective is aimed at providing a form of social protection for workers whose prospects for daily or casual work were adversely affected by the containment policies put in place to limit the spread of  the virus.

Other trending queries were the BBI ruling, KDF recruitment, SGR Booking, Pandora Papers where the President’s family was mentioned while Afghanistan closed the top ten general searches by Kenyans.

 In the local trending personalities, Mukhisa Kituyi was the top trending search personality. The former secretary general for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) declared his intention to vie for the presidency. He was also accused of assault and reported to the police in Mombasa.

In second position was retired President Mwai Kibaki who celebrated his 90th birthday last November with Martha Koome in the third position after she was appointed Kenya’s first female Chief Justice.

Eliud Kipchoge’s name search came fourth as he won a gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics marathon and became the first ever Kenyan to chart the waters of Non-Fungible Tokens by selling his INEOS-Challenge memories for Sh4 million last April.

Joe Biden

Other local personalities who emerged in the list in numerical order are Deputy President William Ruto, Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua, former Attorney General Charles Njonjo, Dagoretti South MP Simba Arati, Africa’s fastest man in men’s 100m race Ferdinand Omanyala, and Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria.

In the trending Global Personalities category, Bobi Wine, Uganda’s opposition leader was the top trending personality, followed by Joe Biden, who was elected as the 46th US President.

Sports journalist Fabrizio Romano, who specialises in football transfers was the third trending personality.

Other global personalities included Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, Alibaba founder Jack Ma, US Vice President Kamala Harris, British model Naomi Campbell, Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu, former President of South Africa Jacob Zuma, and American poet Amanda Gorman.

Covid-19 Registry was the top trending search query in the health category followed by AstraZeneca Vaccine. Chanjo Kenya, which is the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 vaccination portal, was the third trending search health query followed by the Moderna Vaccine.

KMTC (Kenya Medical Training College) was the fifth trending search query. This was due to rising interest in nursing employment opportunities for Kenyans in the United Kingdom.

Kenyans also searched for information on colonoscopy, a non-surgical procedure where a fibre optic camera is used to inspect the health of the large intestines and part of the small intestines.

Signs of Covid-19 was the seventh trending search query in health followed by Bipolar Disorder, a condition associated with episodes of mood swings ranging from depressive lows to manic highs.

Neurodevelopmental disorder

Glaucoma, a condition of increased pressure within the eyeball, causing gradual loss of sight was the ninth trending search query in health followed by Autism, a neurodevelopmental disorder that includes problems with communication and social behaviour.

In the “how to” trending category, “How to find true love” topped the trending search queries while “how to check KCPE and KCSE results” came second and third respectively.

Kenyans also searched how to register for NHIF via M-Pesa. Other queries were how to apply for Kazi Mtaani, how to write an application letter, how to write a CV, how to buy tokens and how to style braids.

The top trending lyrics reveal Kenyans’ appetite for Tanzanian and Nigerian songs where search for Tanzanian songstress Zuchu’s hitsong ‘Sukari’ lyrics came first followed by lyrics from Nigeria’s Joseph Akinwale Akinfenwa-Donus aka’ Joeboy’s hit song ‘Alcohol’.

Bongo artist Diamond Platinumz’s ‘Naanzaje’ hit attracted the third highest number of searches. Other hitsongs whose lyrics were sought were Ndovu ni Kuu by Kenya’s Boutross Munene and Khaligraph Jones.

At position five was Baikoko by Diamond Platinumz with the hitsong ‘Hapo Tu’ by Nyashinski featuring Chris Kaiga, Amazing Grace. Jireh, Love and Nwantiti follow next.

 “Just as Search can help you explore and discover a world of information, there are many ways to explore the year through the lens of Google Search," said Sharon Machira, Google’s Communications and Public Affairs Manager in Kenya.

She added that Google’s 2021 Year in Search Lists compiles the moments, people, topics, events, and places that captured Kenyans’ attention during the year.

"Search is a useful tool to help people find answers to the biggest questions facing society.”

Top 10 Trending Searches by Kenyans in 2021 lists:

Trending - General

1. EPL

2. Uganda Elections

3. Kiambaa By-Election Results

4. IEBC

5. Kazi Mtaani Application

6. BBI Ruling

7. KDF Recruitment 2021

8. SGR Booking

9. Pandora Papers

10. Afghanistan

 Trending Local Personalities

1. Mukhisa Kituyi

2. Mwai Kibaki

3. Martha Koome

4. Eliud Kipchoge

5. Deputy President William Ruto

6. Alfred Mutua

7. Charles Njonjo

8. Simba Arati

9. Ferdinand Omanyala

10. Moses Kuria

Trending Health

1. COVID-19 Registry

2. AstraZeneca Vaccine

3. Chanjo Kenya

4. Moderna Vaccine

5. KMTC

6. Colonoscopy

7. Signs of COVID-19

8. Bipolar Disorder

9. Glaucoma

10. Autism

Trending Global Personalities

1. Bobi Wine

2. Joe Biden

3. Fabrizio Romano

4. Museveni

5. Jack Ma

6. Kamala Harris

7. Naomi Campbell

8. Samia Suluhu

9. Jacob Zuma

10. Amanda Gorman

Trending Obituaries

1. John Magufuli

2. Chris Kirubi

3. DMX

4. TB Joshua

5. Jakoyo Midiwo

6. Prince Philip

7. Simeon Nyachae

8. Kalembe Ndile

9. Yusuf Haji

10. Bunny Wailer

Trending Sports

1. EPL

2. Euro 2020

3. La Liga Table

4. Serie A Table

5. Champions League

6. Paralympics

7. Olympic Games Tokyo 2020

8. Europa League

9. Pakakumi

10. Bundesliga Table

Trending movies and TV Shows

1. Squid Game

2. Zora

3. Red Notice

4. Black Widow

5. Killing Eve

6. Coming to America

7. Snake Eyes

8. Lupin

9. Army of the Dead

10. Mortal Kombat

Trending ‘How to’ (General)

1. How to find true love?

2. How to check KCPE results online

3. How to check KCSE results

4. How to pay NHIF via Mpesa

5. How to reverse Mpesa

6. How to apply Kazi Mtaani

7. How to write an application letter

8. How to write a CV

9. How to buy tokens

10. How to style braids

Trending ‘How To’ (Tech)

1. How to open pdf file

2. How to open null file

3. How to open apk file

4. How to open docx file

5. How to open bin file

6. How to check NHIF status

7. How to hack a WiFi password

8. How to open zip file

9. How to open mp3 file

10. How to download videos from YouTube

Trending Lyrics

1. ‘Sukari’ Lyrics

2. ‘Alcohol’ Lyrics

3. ‘Naanzaje’ Lyrics

4. ‘Ndovu Ni Kuu’ Lyrics

5. ‘Baikoko’ Lyrics

6. ‘Hapo Tu’ Lyrics

7. ‘Amazing Grace’ Lyrics

8. ‘Jireh’ Lyrics

9. ‘Love Nwantiti’ Lyrics

10. ‘Zuchu Sukari’ Lyrics

  [email protected]