A Farmer and a Door Supplier Just Split Ksh50 Million — Here’s How

Two men who had never met before last week are now Ksh25 million richer each, after a football prediction contest ended in a rare tie at the top.

Peter Gachau, 45, farms in Embakasi but hails from Kangari in Murang’a County. Raban Ngatia, 46, supplies wooden doors from Narok to Kisii. Both are married fathers of three — Peter to three children, Raban to three daughters — and both got 13 of 15 match outcomes right in the closing round of Betika’s Must Be Won Jackpot.

Because they tied for the best score, the two men divided the Ksh50 million top prize down the middle.

Why Nobody Needed a Perfect Score

The payout wasn’t triggered by flawless forecasting. It was triggered by the clock.

The Must Be Won Jackpot runs in eight-week cycles. Winners can emerge at any point — but if seven weeks pass without one, the eighth week forces a result. Whoever has the most correct predictions takes the money, and if more than one player ties, they share it.

That rule is what turned two solid-but-imperfect scorecards into a payout worth Ksh25 million each.

Neither man has publicly mapped out what he’ll do with the money. Both described the win as a turning point for their families during the handover event.

Not the First, and Not the Last

The pair join a growing list of winners from the jackpot’s first year. Eric Macharia Ndwiga and Edwin Indimuli Mukaye have also collected prizes, and in April the pot was split eight ways — evidence that the format can crown one person or several depending on how the final week shakes out.

Betika’s Head of Brand, Eric Mwiti, said the eight-week ceiling was deliberate: customers needed a competition with a guaranteed finish line rather than one that could roll over indefinitely.

Mwiti put the total paid out since the jackpot launched in December 2025 at Ksh200 million in main prizes, with consolation payouts on top of that.

The Passes That Cut the Work

There’s a shortcut built into the game. Betika Gaming Product Lead Mccarios Mayaka explained that qualifying players can earn up to three Game Passes weekly, and each one counts as an automatic correct pick.

That means a player holding all three only needs to get 12 of the 15 matches right. The passes cover the rest.

Importantly, the passes and the eighth-week rule do different jobs: the passes lower the bar for a correct entry, while the final-week rule decides who gets paid when the main prize has gone unclaimed through week seven.

A Word of Caution

Mwiti used the handover to remind customers that the forced payout doesn’t make winning likely. Betting remains a gamble, and he urged players to stake only what they can afford to lose.

For Gachau and Ngatia, the gamble has already paid off. For everyone else, the next cycle has begun.

Not for persons under the age of 18, always play responsibly.