A Nakuru businessman, Zechariah Githuku Kiairie, has opened up about his devastating struggle with sports betting addiction, which saw him lose over KSh 12 million and nearly cost him his life, family, and livelihood.
In a candid interview with Itugi TV, Kiairie recounted how what started as casual betting spiraled into a destructive addiction. At the peak of his financial success, Kiairie owned a thriving radiator business and several rental properties. His business was largely supported by trust—friends and family lent him substantial amounts of money, sometimes up to KSh 540,000, without formal agreements.
His descent into gambling began innocently. A small win of KSh 8,000 from a KSh 200 bet, followed by a KSh 64,000 payout, gave him a false sense of financial invincibility. When he won KSh 95,000, he believed betting was a legitimate path to wealth. “It felt like easy money. I thought I had found a new way to succeed,” he said. Soon, he was placing bets as large as KSh 100,000.
The addiction took a toll. His daughter once returned to school with fee arrears, and instead of settling the bill, he borrowed money from a shylock—and lost it all to gambling. In a desperate bid to recover his losses, Kiairie sold a piece of land hosting his rental units for KSh 3.5 million. The entire amount was also lost to betting.
Overwhelmed by debt and shame, he fled Nakuru for Mombasa, intending to end his life by drowning in the ocean. “I couldn’t take it anymore. I had ruined everything,” he recalled.
Fate, however, had other plans. He found work at a construction site, which reconnected him with the value of hard work and rekindled memories of his family. Still pursued by creditors, his recovery began when his aunt intervened and cleared his debts. His wife stepped in to manage the remnants of their business, giving him a chance to rebuild.
It wasn’t until he requested his M-Pesa statements from the nine years he had been gambling that the full scale of his losses became clear: over KSh 12 million gone.
