It’s that time of year again! The season when every major platform rolls out its annual Year in Review. Spotify Wrapped has already dominated social feeds, YouTube Recap is out, and now Google has joined the parade with its 2025 Search Year in Review.
While Google highlighted the biggest global search moments, we drilled down into the Kenya-specific ranking to understand what truly captured the nation’s attention in 2025, ranging from politics and sports to recipes, lyrics, and oddly specific meanings.
And if you’re wondering whether 2025 was another chaotic year? Well… Kenya’s search behaviour speaks for itself.
News: CHAN tops everything, alongside politics and global shocks
Kenyans spent 2025 glued to both screens and events. The CHAN tournament sits firmly at the top—no surprise given the fanfare around Kenya co-hosting CHAN 2024 and the national conversation that followed.
Political names dominate the rest of the list, reflecting a year of intense discourse around the late Raila Odinga, regional politics, and electoral matters.
Top trending news searches in Kenya (2025):
- CHAN
- Raila Odinga
- SHA
- Diogo Jota
- Afya Yangu
- Charlie Kirk
- Pope Francis
- Museveni
- Chebukati
- IEBC
Sports events, high-profile political figures, and international controversies shaped most of Kenya’s news searches, which is an almost predictable but still telling snapshot of the country’s information appetite.
People (Kenyans): Kipyegon leads again, but Odinga family dominates
The most-searched Kenyan personalities of 2025 showcase two themes: athletic excellence and political legacy.
Faith Kipyegon once again leads the pack, cementing her status as one of the most followed public figures in the country. Meanwhile, multiple members of the Odinga family appear, namely Winnie, Oburu, Ruth, and Rosemary, making them the most dominant political family on Google Search this year.
Most searched Kenyans (2025):
- Faith Kipyegon
- Winnie Odinga
- Oburu Odinga
- Ruth Odinga
- Edward Kwach
- James Orengo
- Rosemary Odinga
- Eliud Lagat
- Margaret Nduta Vietnam
- Justin Muturi
People (sports): Footballers dominate with Man-U’s Sesko on top
The sports category shows Kenya’s ongoing obsession with football,especially the Premier League and European football. Manchester United’s Benjamin Šeško takes the top spot, likely because of his transfer from RB Leipzig to the English giants, while Faith Kipyegon interestingly appears again partly thanks to her heroics at the 2025 World Athletics Championships to become the first woman to win four world titles in any distance-running event, among other achievements.
Most searched sports personalities in Kenya (2025):
- Šeško
- Faith Kipyegon
- João Pedro
- Xavi Simons
- Bryan Mbeumo
- Eberechi Eze
- Madueke
- Noni Madueke
- Donnarumma
- Omar Marmoush
Notably, Madueke and Noni Madueke are the same person, so perhaps Google should’ve done a better job to include the 11th sports person into the top 10 list.
Loss: A year of collective grief and global uncertainty
This category reflects some of the most shocking or widely discussed moments of the year, ranging from political rumours to celebrity news.
Top searches related to loss (2025):
- Raila Odinga
- Diogo Jota
- Charlie Kirk
- Pope Francis
- Chebukati
- Albert Ojwang
- Kimani Mbugua
- Hulk Hogan
- Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o
- Kyalo Mbobu
Meaning: Kenyans were Googling “Enigma,” “Jowi,” and… “Wantam”
Meaning-related searches continue to reveal what phrases captured public interest, often after trending online or appearing in political or cultural moments.
Top “meaning” searches in Kenya (2025):
- Enigma
- Jowi
- Conclave
- Demure
- Kubant
- Habemus Papam
- Wantam
- Ayurvedic
- Saba Saba
- Blood Moon
Please let us know in the comments if you found the meaning of “Jowi,” “Wantam” and “Demure.”
Questions: Kenya’s biggest wonders, confusions, and curiosities
These are the questions Kenyans asked Google the most, which gives us a window into the country’s collective curiosity and the year’s biggest trending moments.
Top questions Kenyans asked Google in 2025:
- Who is Charlie Kirk
- Who is the new Pope
- Where is Raila Odinga
- What is happening in Sudan
- What is Rhema feast
- What is happening in Congo
- What is Blood Moon
- Who is Raila Odinga
- When is the Ballon d’Or 2025
- What is Jowi in Luo
Recipes: Kenya’s kitchen trended toward ginger shots, cookies, and… uji power
Ginger shots took the top spot, which tracks perfectly with Kenya’s growing obsession with wellness content across TikTok and Instagram. But cookies, brownies, pizza, and even Osso Buco made the cut.
Top trending recipes in Kenya (2025):
- Ginger shots
- Chocolate chip cookie
- Cinnamon rolls
- Brownie
- Bone broth
- Dawa
- Milkshake
- Mini pizza
- Osso buco
- Uji power
Lyrics: Songs that made Kenyans Google the words
Google’s lyrics category shows the year’s biggest earworms. From Harry Belafonte classics to Kenyan hits, gospel drops, and viral TikTok anthems, Kenya’s listening habits were all over the place, but in the best way.
Top lyrics searches in Kenya (2025):
- Jamaica farewell lyrics
- Not like ss lyrics
- Pawa lyrics
- Donjo maber lyrics
- Backbencher Toxic Lyrikali lyrics
- Kasongo lyrics
- Shake it to the max lyrics
- Nuru yako umenitoa gizani lyrics
- Uniondolee dhambi nitakase lyrics
- Minister of enjoyment lyrics
Songs: An eclectic mix, from Belafonte to Bien
Kenya’s trending song list in 2025 spans decades of music. “Jamaica Farewell,” a timeless global classic, was the most searched song, followed by gospel, local bangers, Luo hits, and TikTok-fueled tracks.
Top Trending Songs in Kenya (2025):
- Jamaica Farewell – Harry Belafonte
- Nathaniel Bassey – Adonai
- Pawa – Mbosso
- Donjo Maber – Dufla & Lyanni
- Backbencher – Toxic Lyrikali
- Kodongklan – Nyaduse
- Coster – Jowi
- Taya – Okellomax
- Bien – All my enemies are suffering
- My Darling – Chella
Kenya’s 2025 Year in Search reveals a highly informed and emotionally engaged public. The passing of a political icon like Raila Odinga created ripple effects across multiple categories, driving searches for family members, related cultural terms, and even his favourite music. Simultaneously, major sports and critical national policies like hosting CHAN and SHA kept the public intensely focused on domestic and regional affairs.
It’s clear that whether searching for the meaning of “Jowi” or the perfect “Ginger shots recipe,” Kenyans turned to Google this year to make sense of a world that was moving, mourning, and making history.
What are your thoughts on Kenya’s top searches for 2025? Let us know in the comments below!
