Cape Town — Macky Sall won the presidency of Senegal in April 2012, after a tumulutous time in country, when Abdoulaye Wade official approval to run for a controversial third and last term was followed by violent protests. He subsequently lost the second round of voting. So it comes as no surprise his name came up as the number 1 search in Google's Zeitgeist list for 2012.
In the same category, journalist Cheikh Yerim Seck is second - likely because of the rape charges which led to him being sentenced to 3 years in prison. Seck also owns the tabloid-style website Dakaractu which comes tops in the most-searched category.
On top of the most-searched images is Dakar - the country's capital and largest city. Located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast,it is also the westernmost city on the African mainland.
The "untouchable" Lionel Messi came second in the "most searched images" category. Messi plays as a forward for La Liga club FC Barcelona and Argentina's national team.
After consecutively winning the world footballer of the year awards for 2010 and 2011, the 25 year old set a new record for goals in a calendar year after reaching 86 for 2012 which put him more on the world calendar.
Google uses the German word Zeitgeist for their annual list - it means "the spirit of the times", and it includes top searches for 50 countries.
Top 10 Searches
- Dakaractu
- Euro 2012
- 123dakar
- McDonalds
- CAN 2012
- Senego
- YouTube mp3
- Ditadurado Consenso
- Swarg
- Macky Sall
