How office clerk bagged Sh424m betting cash prize
On Tuesday morning last week, Bonnie Kamau reported to work at the Nuclear Investments booking office in Nairobi as he had done countless times before. He filed paperwork, issued tickets, ran banking errands, and traded small jokes with colleagues. Unknown to them, his life had already been transformed beyond recognition.
Two days earlier, on Sunday morning, Bonnie had followed a ritual he had observed for more than a decade. At a small cyber café, he printed the SportPesa Mega Jackpot fixtures — 17 football matches in total — studied the odds, placed a Sh500 stake, said a prayer, and then went to church.
By Monday, his phone lit up with a call that would change everything. On the other end was SportPesa CEO Ronald Karauri, delivering the news: Bonnie had won Sh424,660,618 — the biggest football jackpot in Kenya’s history.
“I was surprised to receive the call. The first person I phoned was my wife,” he recalls. “It took three calls before she believed me. At first, she thought I wasn’t normal.”
He didn’t immediately reveal the amount he had won. Instead, he decided to tease her. “I asked her, ‘What’s your dream car?’ She was at her shop, busy, and hung up on me twice before I managed to convince her to listen,” he says with a grin.
At his workplace, the reaction was equally incredulous.
“They were shocked that I was so calm even after winning such a huge amount. They thought something was wrong with me,” Bonnie says, still amused.
Mr Karauri, who personally makes the call to inform winners, remembers his own surprise at Bonnie’s composure.
“The last time I made that call was in 2018, so I was very excited to find out who this winner was. After all these years, we finally had another jackpot champion. But Bonnie was so calm on the phone that I kept wondering if he really understood the amount he had just won. This is a lot of money,” the SportPesa boss says.
Since the announcement, Bonnie’s life has inevitably shifted. But the torrent of advice that followed has left him both grateful and bemused.
“There’s been advice from all directions. Some people tell you to invest here, others say spend there. But the best advice so far has come from my mother, who told me to take a vacation, relax, and only then decide what to do with the money. That’s exactly what I plan to do,” he says.
Bonnie has been betting for the past 10 years, weathering both losses and modest wins. His largest win before this was Sh171,000 in bonus payouts.
The jackpot, he insists, will not mark the end of his betting career.
“I started betting when it first came to Kenya. The most I had ever won before was Sh171,000. I don’t do guesswork. I carry a bag with my notes, analysing games and checking odds. In gambling, odds matter a lot — you must evaluate before staking,” he explains.
Even without a detailed investment plan, Bonnie is clear about his first act of generosity.
“At home in the village, water is a problem. I plan to drill a borehole so people can have clean water,” he says.
He also intends to resign from his clerk job at Nuclear Investments, believing someone else should have the opportunity.
“I am grateful to God that my family has never faced any major problems. God has been good to us, and I have never lacked anything growing up. I believe God loves me in a special way. Even on the day I placed the bet, I prayed and went to church,” he says.
Still, Bonnie cautions others against reckless gambling. “Bet responsibly,” he urges. “Bet only after you’ve met your basic needs to avoid addiction.”
SportPesa’s Mega Jackpot has a short but dramatic history. The inaugural winner, Samuel Abisai, took home Sh221,301,602 in April 2017. Just a month later, in May 2017, three joint winners — Daniel Rono, Geoffrey Keitany, and Florence Machogu — shared Sh111,176,374.
In February 2018, Gordon Ogada claimed Sh230,742,881, a record that stood until Bonnie’s recent win. In September 2018, Cosmas Korir became the fourth jackpot winner, pocketing Sh208,733,619.
Before Bonnie’s triumph, Ogada’s Sh230.7 million had been the highest payout in Kenyan football betting history. Abisai and Korir’s wins of Sh221.3 million and Sh208.7 million respectively also made headlines nationwide.
For Bonnie, however, the numbers, while life-changing, are not the heart of the story. His focus, he says, will be on using the money in ways that bring lasting benefit to his family, his community, and himself.
“Money is good, but you must remain grounded,” he says. “This win is a blessing, and I want to make sure it counts.”
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