Kenyans second top tweeters in Africa

A new report places Kenyans as the second top users of Twitter in Africa, surpassing countries in the Maghreb that had used the facility to stage political revolt.

Kenyans, ranked behind South Africans, tweet more than giants Nigerians, Egyptians and Moroccans despite having a lesser population.

The report titled How Africa Tweets says 60 per cent of those who tweet are aged between 20 and 29 years.

The study that was conducted by Portland’s Communications adds that 57 per cent of these tweets are from mobile devices and are driving the growth of social media in Africa.

However, it emerged that African leaders are still lagging behind in the use of social media.

“One of the more surprising findings of this research is that more public figures have not joined Africa’s burgeoning Twittersphere.

“With some notable exceptions, we found that business and political leaders were largely absent from the debates playing out on Twitter across the continent,'' said Mark Flanagan, Portland’s Partner for Digital Communications

“As Twitter lifts off in Africa, governments, businesses and development agencies can really no longer afford to stay out of a new space where dialogue will increasingly be taking place, ” he added.

How Africa Tweets found that Twitter is helping to form new links within Africa.

Majority of those interviewed said that at least half of the Twitter accounts they follow are based within the continent.

Several Kenyan political leaders have set up social media accounts to woo voters in preparation for the 2012 General Election.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka have several Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Deputy PM and Minister for Finance Uhuru Kenyatta's aides often release statements on social media while Gichugu MP Martha Karua is also very active.