Murdered businessman Jacob Juma topped Kenya’s list of most trending Google searches for May.
The controversial man was found dead on May 5, sparking claims by the Opposition of a political assassination by the government.
“This was one of the searches that elicited quite a number of reactions from Kenyans mostly after it took a political direction,” said Dorothy Ooko.
Ooko is Google’s communication manager for East and Sub-Saharan Africa.
The second most trending search was Cheryl Kitonga, a university student named in an expose for dating Juma.
Renowned media personality, Caroline Mutoko took to her YouTube channel to express her disappointment on the expose on the 26-year-old.
Third on the list was Swiss professional footballer Granit Xhaka. English football club Arsenal confirmed it had signed the 23-year-old from German football club Borussia Monchengladbach for 25 million pounds.
“Kenyans’ love for football was again shown in this. It was a surprise to see who Arsene Wenger had added to the squad as he rarely buys new players,” said Ooko.
Former Cabinet Minister Soita Shitanda, who succumbed to illness at Nairobi Hospital on May 24, came fourth.
Rubella, an infection also known as German measles, took position five. It trended after the Health ministry announced a vaccination drive across the country’s 47 counties.
Other trending searches were Mothers Day which fell on May 8, the second Sunday of the month.
Chikungunya, an infection caused by the chikungunya virus, also topped searches after Mandera county announced an outbreak had claimed 14 lives as at May 31.
Nyota Ndogo whose wedding photos were shared online and Conjestina Achieng, the former female World Boxing Champion, who was rumoured to have died, took positions eight and nine respectively.
‘Friday the 13th’ came tenth as people went online to find out more about the day considered unlucky.
In the ‘what is’ category’, ‘ what is rubella ‘ trended most, followed by ‘what is a grammy’ in connection with the 58th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony.
Other subjects in the ‘what is’ category were hysteria – a pyschological disorder – cover letter, drooling, epilepsy, memorial day, floating check, climate change andSchengen visa.
In the ‘How to’ category, the dominant search was ‘how to stop prolonged menses’. Causes of excessive menstrual bleeding or menorrhagia include hormonal imbalance, stress, and excessive weight loss or gain.
Other subjects in the category were how to lose weight fast, file taxes online, make lemonade, have bigger hips, solve a rubix cube, use a computer and care for natural hair.
