Who is the most famous person in Kenya? 

That question bothers many, and it might be why you’re here seeking clarification. 

Well, deciding who the most famous person is in a country or the world is challenging. There are so many variables that come in place.

But at least we have the internet, where several platforms stand out due to the community they have built. So we can use the fan bases of personalities to determine who seemingly is the most famous person in any given setting.

Below is a list of Kenyans who have amassed the biggest fan bases on Social media and video-sharing platforms. 

1. Erick Omondi.

Eric Omondi is an Award-winning Comedian who has been flying the Kenyan flag as far as the Comedy industry is concerned. In 2020 Omondi was crowned the year’s comedian for the third time in a row by African Entertainment Awards, USA. Just the other day, BBC ranked him as the 9th funniest man in Africa on a list topped by Trevor Noah and Basketmouth. 

He is well known for posting satirical and musical comedy videos to his YouTube channel, with over 500K subscribers. He recently led the campaign for parliamentarians to ensure that 75 percent of music and other artistic work played on Kenyan TVs and radios is local.

• Facebook:2.2 M
• Twitter:61.1K
• Instagram:3.8M
• Tiktok:64.9K
• Youtube:545K

2. Akothee.

Esther Akoth, better known as Akothee, is a Kenyan musician and businesswoman. She is the founder of Akothee Safaris, a tour company based in Kenya, the Akothee Foundation, a charity, and Aknotela and Akothee Homes, a real estate businesswoman. 

The mother of five enjoys a considerable following, especially on Instagram and Facebook. She has won several awards, including “Best Female Artist(East Africa) at the African Muzik Magazine Awards in 2016 and 2019,” Best Video” at the African Muzik Magazine Awards in 2016, and “Best Female Artist” at the African Entertainment Awards USA.

• Facebook:2.2 M
• Twitter:62.2K
• Instagram:3.2M
• Tiktok:74.4K
• Youtube:379K

3. Daniel Ndambuki aka Churchill.

Daniel Ndambuki, famously known as Churchill, is a Kenyan comedian who hosts the comedy television show Churchill Show on Tv47, Kenya, on Sundays.The show previously aired on NTV.He became the first Kenyan to hit 1,000,000 likes on Facebook and has now garnered a fan base that is Facebook which is the highest of any celebrity in Kenya. Daniel has been termed the father of the comic industry in Kenya. 

He has promoted young talent through his signature show Churchill live. The show has increasingly become East Africa’s most popular and hilarious TV Show, gaining significant international interest from comedy enthusiasts in the US, the UK, India, Germany, and the rest of the world.

• Facebook:4.2 M
• Twitter:936.3K
• Instagram:2.5M
• Tiktok:155.4K
• Youtube:2.02M

4. Betty Kyallo.

Betty Kyalo is a Kenyan media personality, news anchor, and businesswoman. After graduating from Daystar University with a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication, she joined Kenya Television Network, where she worked as an intern and was later taken in as a news anchor where she aired the 9 pm news on Fridays (the Friday Briefing). 

Later, she joined K24, where she aired the weekend ‘Up close with Betty’ program. She quit K24 and started her salon and spa business in Kilimani named Flair by Betty. In mid-2021, she started another company, Aftershave by Flair barbershop and Bk closet. She has several awards, such as media personality of the year by SOMA in 2017. In 2020, she won the TV/online influencer award at the Africa Digital Influencer Awards event.

• Facebook:1.4 M
• Twitter:1.2M
• Instagram:3M
• Tiktok:132.8K
• Youtube:143K

5. Michael Olunga.

Michael Olunga Ogada is a Kenyan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Qatari club Al-Duhail and the Kenya national team. He began his career with Liberty Sports Academy while still attending Upper Hill School in the Nairobi league. He signed for Kenyan Premier League side Tusker on a one-year deal in 2012 and then proceeded to play for Gor-Mahia. 

He later joined Swedish side Djugarden where he finished as the club’s top scorer in his debut season. While playing for Girona, he is the first and only Kenyan player to score a hat trick in the La Liga. Yet again, he became the first African to win the J1 League Most Valuable Player award and the Golden Boot after scoring 28 goals. He has many followers, including over a million on Facebook alone.

• Facebook:1.1 M
• Twitter:94.3K
• Instagram:150K
• Tiktok:
• Youtube:13.4

6. MCA Tricky.

Francis Munyao, popularly known as MCA Tricky, catapulted to fame after joining the list of Churchill show comedians. His talent took him from the streets to the TV screen. His persona revolves around portraying the life and stories of Nairobi street boys. He has used that character to change people’s perceptions of street kids. 

Francis graduated in 2019 from Kenyatta University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. In addition to that, he is an addition to the Radio Maisha Asubuhi Show, where he co-hosts with Billy Miya. He has many followers on Facebook and a youtube channel called MCA Tricky tv with over 295 k subscribers.

• Facebook:2.7M
• Twitter:132K
• Instagram:1.7M
• Tiktok:11K
• Youtube:296K

7. Jalang’o.

Felix Odiwour, commonly known as Jalang’o, is a Kenyan entrepreneur, actor, director, comedian, and radio presenter. He is also the CEO of Arena media, an event organising company. Jalang’o became famous after his first appearance on citizen TV in the Papa Shirandula show. 

After a stint in acting, he started a career as a talk show host/radio presenter at Kiss 100, after which he moved on to Hot 96 FM, where he hosted one of the biggest shows and one of the most celebrated television personalities Jeff Koinange. Recently, he was handed Life Membership Certificate by the Orange Democratic Movement ahead of his bid to vie for the Langata Parliamentary Seat.

• Facebook:421K
• Twitter:627K
• Instagram:2.6M
• Tiktok:84.7K
• Youtube:562K

8. Jeff Koinange.

The controversial Jeff Mwaura Koinange is a Kenyan journalist and host of Jeff Koinange Live, a talk show on Citizen TV since February 2017. Jeff obtained an Associate’s degree from Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn, New York, in 1989. After winning a scholarship, he attended New York University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in broadcast journalism. After graduating, he worked for ABC and NBC between 1994 and 2001. 

He also worked at Reuters between 1995 and 2001. After a rocking scandal at CNN, Koinange decided to ply his trade in his motherland. He joined K24, and after a short stint, he relocated to Citizen TV, where he is currently. The exemplary journalist has gained global recognition with one of his series-winning a TV Emmy. He is also very prominent in giving back to the community with his initiative to build libraries in the slums regions of Kenya.

• Facebook:830K
• You tube :50K
• Twitter:2M
• Instagram:1M

9. Bahati.

Kelvin Bahati is an award-winning Kenyan Gospel singer. His life story tells of a tale that all dreams are valid no matter where one comes from. Despite being an orphan from an early age, he rose to become a fast-rising music star. He made headlines with his hit single ‘Sku ya kwanza’ in late 2012. 

As a man with talent, his humble nature and undeniable talent have put him in the big league. He emerged outstanding in groove awards 2014, where he won best male gospel musician. Bahati was also named the best gospel artist in Africa in the Afrimma awards 2014 hosted at the Eisemann Center, Texas, USA. He is currently drumming up support to represent the people of Mathare in the national parliament.

• Facebook:678K
• You tube:992K
• Twitter:214.4K
• Instagram:3.2M
• Tiktok:154.4K

10. Khaligraph Jones.

Khaligraph Jones was born Brian Ouko Robert on 12^th June 1990. He has been flying the Kenyan flag high as far as the music industry is concerned. He began his career in primary school in 2008 at a function called words and Pictures’, but a popular competition catapulted him to international acclaim almost instantly,’ Channel O Music Video Awards Emcee Africa 2009′.

Later, he was crowned ‘Best Rap Act of the Year’ at the fifth Annual African Muzik Magazine Awards 2018(Afrimma)held at House of Blues in Dallas, Texas. Khaligraph was also named best Hip-hop act at the Soundcity MVP Awards in January 2020, which took place at the Eko Convention Center in Lagos, Nigeria. Recently, he was nominated for the Best International Flow category for the BET Awards. In May 2021, he was named the East African Rapper of the Year at MTN Uganda. He has been flying the Kenyan flag high as far as music is concerned.

• Facebook:4.7K
• YouTube:618K
• Twitter:282K
• Instagram:2M
• Tiktok:23.7K

Conclusion.

The variables used above were mainly based on social media platforms. For obvious reasons, we could not use other ways of determining popularity, like elections. We are also drawn to the attention that some platforms like Facebook are more popular than others, which is why we have expressly given due consideration to the platform’s popularity in rating the order.