Some opportunities only come once in a lifetime as most jackpot winners will attest. A number of Kenyans have won millions of shillings playing the lotto or placing bets correctly on winning teams. Below is a list of the biggest jackpot winners and how they spent their good fortune.
Samuel Abisai
Samuel Abisai became the talk of town after walking away with Sh221 million Sportpesa mega jackpot. This was after he had placed a bet of Sh200 and correctly predicted 17 matches. Soon after being confirmed the winner, he received calls from dozens of acquaintances who were hoping to get a share of the pie.
He treated himself to a holiday abroad and took about a year to figure out how to spend the money. According to the Standard, he donated some to the church before investing in real estate. He also helped a few friends to set up businesses.
Gordon Ogada
Gordon Ogada shot into the limelight after winning the 230,742,881 jackpot. To date, this remains the biggest ever jackpot in the country. Five months after the big win, he revealed to a local daily that he was broke in order to stop those who thought he had money laying around.
“It has been five months since I won the money. I put almost all the money into long-term investments. I do not have money just floating like many people want to believe. I am broke most of the time,” he said previously.
He seems to have put the money into good use as it was reported in April 2022 that he had built a new luxurious home in Nyatike village, Migori, this year. His millions have also been used to pay school fees for children from disadvantaged backgrounds and improving the welfare of the elderly.
Cosmas Korir
In October 2018, Cosmas Korir won Sh208,765,000 Sportpesa jackpot. He went on to spend Sh12 million on a Toyota Land Cruiser V8 and gave two of his betting friends Sh5 million each.
“We were three of us and as usual we sat down and strategized on the teams we should bet our money on. My friends did not have money, so I shared with them Sh200 so that they could bet on five teams each while I decided to bet on seven teams,” he said.
He spent Sh2 million to complete his Bomet house and cleared a Sh3.5 million loan he had taken to complete the house. He also bought a flat in Eldoret. He put Sh130 million in a fixed deposit account and invested in real estate by buying two flats in Kitengela.
Eli Kipruto Rotich-Ksh200 million
The Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology student won Ksh200 million after winning the Betika Mega Jackpot. According to Eli, he had placed Ksh49 bet and predicted 17 matches correctly.
Geoffrey Kung’u
Geoffrey Kung’u, a farmer from Nyandarua, joined the millionaires club in the beginning of 2017. This is after he won Ksh100 million in the lotto jackpot. The then 40-year-old was announced the jackpot winner in the Lotto Shinda Mamili Charity draw on New Year’s eve.
“I was in the house with my wife when l learnt that l had won the Sh100 million. At first, l didn’t believe myself,” Mr Kung’u told the Nation at his home on Sunday morning.
He had started participating in the draw in October 2016 and deposited money whenever he could afford. Upon winning, Mr. Kung’u said that he will sit with his family and budget on the money, and use some of it to expand his small scale farming.
