“O Jewa Ke Eng?”: SA Tweet Tops “Most Retweeted” List

A viral tweet from a South African influencer has been named the most retweeted tweet with comments worldwide for 2019.

Back in early January, Keabetswe Jan – who is also a 19-year-old nursing student from Bloemfontein, Free State – posted a four-word tweet: “O jewa ke eng?”

When translated to English, the SeSotho phrase means “What is eating you?”, an expression that is typically used for asking why someone is annoyed or unhappy.

Almost immediately, Jan’s tweet became a global sensation – garnering 60 000 likes, 18 000 retweets and over 47 000 comments, it has allowed thousands of people from South Africa and the rest of the world to share what’s on their minds.

Users continue to retweet the post daily, with Jan often replying directly to them.

Per the social media platform’s annual ‘Year on Twitter’ report, Jan’s post shares the title of most retweeted with comments alongside this year’s other popular tweets “Sco pa tu manaa”, “Bomboclaat” and “Ian Cumberland”.