Google: Kirinyaga deputy governor among top trending topics in April

Egyptian footballer Mohamed Salah Ghaly who was recently named Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers’ Association

NAIROBI, KENYA: Google has released top trending searches in Kenya for the week closing the month April 2018; 22nd to 29th April 2018. 

Top on the list was Egyptian footballer Mohamed Salah Ghaly who was named Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers’ Association. The Liverpool forward, who has scored 43 goals in his debut season at Anfield, made history by becoming the first African player ever to collect the accolade. Other trending football searches were UEFA Champions League fixtures - Liverpool Match versus A.S Roma and Real Madrid versus Bayern Munich. 

Trending at number two was Kirinyaga Deputy Governor, Peter Ndambiri, after a video implying that he was caught in a compromising situation with the alleged wife of another man went viral on social media. Mr Ndambiri, while recording a statement at Thika police station claimed he was a victim of a set-up that was meant to embarrass him, after he refused to pay a Sh5 million ransom. 

John Macharia, son to businessman S.K. Macharia, trended at number three as Kenyans sought to find details of his demise. The late Gichia Macharia, the founder of Triple A Capital and Direct Line Assurance, passed away on Thursday at the Karen Hospital, after a tragic road accident along the Southern bypass in Nairobi. 

The week also saw Kenyans go online in search of Rick Ross. The 42-year-old American rapper and entrepreneur, William Leonard Roberts II - known by his stage name Rick Ross - arrived in Kenya on Friday, and performed on Saturday at an NRGWave concert at Carnivore grounds. Rick Ross in Kenya was the fourth trending item on Google search. 

London Marathon 2018 - the 38th annual mass participation London Marathon race that took place on Sunday, 22 April 2018, in London, England - was the fifth trending item. Dominating the London Marathon searches were Eliud Kipchoge who won the elite men's race - his third London Marathon title, Vivian Cheruiyot who won the elite women's race - claiming her maiden major marathon title, and UK’s Mo Farah who came in third in the men’s elite race. 

Trending at number six was Kenneth Matiba’s cremation. The late Matiba, who had made public his wish for cremation in February 1994, was on Friday cremated at the Lang’ata Cemetery in an event attended by family members and a few close friends. 

Pansexual - the sexual, romantic or emotional attraction towards people regardless of their sex or gender identity - was the seventh trending search item on Google. This is after singer-actress Janelle Monae, in a magazine interview, spoke about her sexuality, revealing the fact she has had relationships with men and women. 

Robert Rihmeek Williams, known professionally as Meek Mill, was the eighth trending search item on Google as Kenyans went online seeking details of his release from prison. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court had, earlier in the week, ordered an immediate release for Mill directing the judge to free him on "unsecured bail." The American rapper and songwriter had received a two-to-four-year prison sentence in November last year for violating probation on a 2008 gun and drug case. 

Trending at number nine was Kate Middleton and Prince William’s royal baby. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge announced that they had named their third son Louis Arthur Charles. The prince, born on 23 April 2018, is fifth in line to the throne.

Closing the list of top ten trending Kenyan searches for the week was Kanye West. The American rapper, songwriter, entrepreneur and fashion designer had in a tweet proclaimed his support for President Trump, consequently attracting mixed reactions from a section of his fans.

Google Search Trends is a publicly available tool that indicates search patterns over a period of time and shows the clusters of searches that made it to the weekly trending searches in the country. Here are results for the most popular searches by Kenyans in the past week in descending order:

Mo Salah, Liverpool

Kirinyaga Deputy Governor

John Macharia

Rick Ross in Kenya

London Marathon 2018; Eliud Kipchoge, Vivian Cheruiyot, Mo Farah

Kenneth Matiba cremation

Pansexual

Meek Mill

Kate Middleton, Prince William royal baby

Kanye West