With police under the spotlight at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into allegations of rot, corruption and interference in the police and the criminal justice system, it is not a surprise that General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi was one of the major subjects of South Africa’s top searches for 2025.

Google released its 2025 Year in Search for South Africa, showing what people in the country tried to understand, fix, follow and debate over the past year.

Year in Search

The report tracks the fastest-rising searches, offering a clear sense of the stories, questions and moments that shaped public curiosity.

“Year in Search continues to highlight what matters most to South Africans,” said Kabelo Makwane, Country Director for Google South Africa.

Mkhwanazi

Online marketplace, Temu, topped Google’s 2025 Year in Search, while Mkhwanazi follows in the number two spot.

Mkhwanazi was one of the major subjects of South Africa’s top searches for 2025. His visibility grew through regular media briefings and increased scrutiny of his work, with searches for him surging in July when he accused senior political leaders and police officials of corruption.

Recurring events like Earth Day also ranked highly, reflecting sustained public interest in climate change and environmental issues.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) also emerged as another defining theme this year, marking a turning point in how South Africans engaged with Search and embedding it more deeply into everyday information-seeking behaviours.

G20 Leaders Summit

South Africans also followed major local and international affairs, with searches for the G20 summit and the Budget speech ranking among the top “When is” searches, highlighting strong public interest in political and economic developments.

Practical financial matters also drew attention, with the new two-pot retirement system appearing among the top ‘How to’ searches, showing people’s desire to understand the policy and navigate online withdrawals

Sports

The top-trending ‘How to’ search was ‘How to vote on Big Brother,’ highlighting South Africans’ high engagement with a fiercely competitive season that dominated social media and everyday conversation.

Sports searches reflected South Africans’ diverse interests. International footballer Diogo Jota, who passed away this year, was the most searched athlete, followed by the Rugby Championship log table, which tracks the progress of the four-nation annual tournament featuring South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and Argentina.

Women’s sports also featured prominently, with the Women’s Rugby World Cup and Women’s Cricket World Cup ranking among the top 10 searches.

SA cultural icons

South Africans also reflected on the legacies of cultural icons we lost this year.

Singer Winnie Khumalo’s musical contributions were widely celebrated, while searches for Presley Chweneyagae and Nandi Nyembe spiked after their passing, prompting nationwide recognition of their impact on film and television.

Donald Trump

Another interesting trending topic was pickled fish, a uniquely South African delicacy that ranked high in both the How To and Recipes categories.

With tension between South Africa and America at an all-time high, US President Donald Trump caused a stir with claims of genocide against Afrikaners and his offer of refugee status for white farmers.