Gordon Ogada correctly predicted 17 matches and won the Sportpesa mega jackpot worth Sh230,742,881 in 2018. This was the highest amount ever won in the country, surpassing Samuel Abisai’s win the previous year. The win was a major milestone for Ogada, who had grown up in the slums of Kibra.
At the unveiling ceremony, Ogada was accompanied by his wife and two children, as they were chauffeured from Kibera to Carnivore Restaurant in a convoy of sleek vehicles led by a dozen motorcycles. However, just five months after winning the money, Ogada confessed to The Standard that he was broke. He had invested the money in long-term projects such as properties and cars, and also upgraded his parents’ living conditions in Migori county.
Although an article in the Daily Nation published soon after his win quotes him saying he lost his parents twenty years ago, Cleaner magazine in 2020 credits him for changing people’s lives. The article states that Ogada fully sponsored 56 students from various wards to secondary school and planned to sink 14 boreholes in Nyatike Constituency.
Despite having lost all his winnings, Ogada’s love for betting remained strong. He hoped to win another jackpot by correctly predicting matches and promised to spend the money wisely if he ever won again.
