Zimbabwe leads Africa in Google’s list of top searches for 2017
Developments in Zimbabwe in 2017 which saw to the outstaring of its erstwhile president, Robert Mugabe aby the military and the swearing in of the former vice president, placed the country to top Goggle search.
Agency report said that, Online search engine giant Google has revealed that the term ‘what is happening in Zimbabwe ‘was one of the top searches in many African countries in 2017.
The latter part of this year saw quite a number of political developments in Zimbabwe involving former president Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace Mugabe, and his then deputy president Emmerson Mnangagwa that ultimately led to the installation of a new president.
The surge in online traffic within and outside Zimbabwe was enough to make the country qualify to be on Google’s Zeitgeist list or Year in Search for the first time.
Google Year in Search is a compilation of the top searches, personalities, events and search queries that had a spike in traffic over the last 12 months and Zimbabwe, politicians and political events dominated the list.
President Mnangagwa, army commander Constantino Chiwenga, Robert and Grace Mugabe were the top four searched personalities followed by popular socialite Zodwa Wabantu.
Zimbabwe’s search queries included questions like ‘what is bullying‘, ‘where is Mnangagwa‘, ‘what is impeachment‘, ‘where is Grace Mugabe‘ and ‘how to make love‘.
The other African countries featured on Google’s Year In Search are Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt, Kenya and South Africa.
South Africa’s biggest searches on Google in 2017 were celebrated actor Dumis Masilela who was brutally murdered in August and Cyclone Dineo while in Nigeria, they also, searched for Moji Olaiya, a veteran actress who passed on in May this year.
Nigerians were also concerned about the health of their president. Search term ‘Is Buhari dead‘ was the number one question on Google from Nigeria in 2017
The presidential elections in Kenya were a big conversation online with search terms ‘Kenya elections’, ‘IEBC Results’, ‘NASA coalition’ and ‘Jubilee Party’ featuring in the country’s top searches of 2017.
Bonny Amadi with Agency Report
