When it comes to who is being followed on Twitter in Kenya, the most popular tweeters aren’t always people — although a certain former prime minister and his wife both make the list. Also making the list of 10 most-followed Kenyans on Twitter are banks, football leagues and the Red Cross, according to Twitaholic. No entertainers make this list. In Kenya, it appears, politics and business are super important in social media.
10. Equity Bank Kenya @KeEquityBank
A bank takes the No. 10 spot on our list with more than 15,000 followers. They send out a range of tweets, like the one here:
Hi Members! Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days- Zig Ziglar
A government development initiative’s twitter feed comes in at No. 9 on our countdown with 18,000-plus followers. The description on twitter reads: “V2030 is the national long-term development blueprint that aims to transform Kenya into a middle-income country providing a high quality of life to its citizens.”
8. Kenyan Football @KenyaPremierLg
In eighth place we have the Twitter account for the Kenyan premier football league. The group has 22,900 followers and has sent out some 19,000 tweets since joining.
7. Eric Njoka @eriknjoka
The seventh most-followed Kenyan on Twitter is K24 news anchor and reporter Eric Njoka Ledama. He sends out news-focused tweets, like this one, to his 24,200 fans:
How ironic how people in Embu town scrambled for ‘free beer’ yet 20 died same evening after consuming “kavakuri” @K24Tv#DrinkofDeath
With 39,000 followers Dr. Ida Odinga comes in at No. 6. She’s the wife of Raila Odinga (he’s also on the list, you’ll have to keep reading to see where), former prime minister of Kenya. Ida is also a business woman, activist and educator. In 2010 she was named the second most powerful woman in Kenya by Standard Digital News.
5. Julius Kanyi @kanyicool
With 100,000 followers Julius Kanyi comes in at No. 5 on our list. On Twitter he describes himself as an “ICT graduate. Technology is my religion, music is my saviour” and he sends out tweets like this one:
Next on our list, with 102,000 followers, is Kenya’s former vice president Kalonzo Musyoka. His tweets are professional and well worded like this one here:
Security: My prayers go out to the families of those who lost their loved ones in the twin attacks. These cowards must be brought to Justice
The No. 3 spot, not surprisingly and sadly — considering the tragedies that have occurred recently in this East African nation — is the Kenyan branch of the Red Cross with 193,000 followers. The aid organization tweets multiple times daily, including accident alert information like this:
#AccidentAlert Involving a pickup and a landrover at Duka Moja near Malava Forest @EMS_Kenya enroute to scene
Occupying the No. 2 spot on our list with 244,000-plus followers, is Martha Karua. The Kenyan politician and former minister of justice (she resigned voluntarily in 2009) tweets frequently. It’s a mix of her own thoughts, quotes (like the one by Plato below) and plenty of re-tweets.
We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. Plato
The most-followed Kenyan on Twitter is the other half of the only husband-and-wife pair to both make the top 10 list. Kenya’s former Prime Minister Raila Odinga comes in at No. 1 with 291,000 followers.