Mirriam Waithira: Nairobi woman addicted to aviator betting recalls asking parents to sell their only cow

A Nairobi woman by the name of Mirriam Waithira has come forward to reveal the depths of despair she found herself in after failing to restrain her rapidly escalating addiction to Aviator betting, which had taken a turn for the worse after she dangled a whooping Ksh264,000 as her first win.

Speaking during an interview with a local TV station on Saturday, March 29, 2025, Mirriam recounted how that initial triumph shattered any doubts she had regarding the authenticity of the popular betting platform and whether indulging in gambling could truly lead to financial ruin.

That was when she recalled how everything unravelled like an elaborate trap, explaining that after that very first win, she never again secured any substantial payout.

Instead, she found herself sinking into insurmountable debts, reaching a point where she had no choice but to ask her parents to sell their only cow in a desperate bid to fund her betting spree.

“I placed a Ksh2,000 bet and left it running, only to return and find that I had miraculously won Ksh264,000, which I immediately withdrew; it was a perfectly set trap, and if only I had known, I would never have believed that this was anything but real, because I was so certain it worked, and at that time, I had even kept it all to myself, but I distinctly remember that from those winnings, I had sent money home, instructing my parents to purchase a cow, only for me to turn around three days later and tell them to sell that very cow and send me the money, which left them repeatedly questioning where I was getting all this money from.”

According to Mirriam, she was the primary breadwinner of her family and, as a result, felt compelled to fabricate an emergency situation so that her parents would be left with no choice but to sell the cow and wire her the money, unaware that it was all to fuel her destructive betting habit.

“I was the sole provider, and when I instructed them to sell the cow, I told them it was an urgent crisis, but in reality, the money was gone in the blink of an eye, and from that moment onwards, I spiralled into even greater financial turmoil as I resorted to taking out loans to sustain my betting addiction.”

Further consequences

Mirriam went on to explain that the addiction dragged her into an abyss of financial devastation, where she began borrowing money from various people, each time convinced that she was on the brink of another major win as thrilling as her first.

She lamented that the losses extended far beyond money, as her once-thriving business in Nairobi completely collapsed, forcing her to flee to her parents’ home in Kinangop in search of solace, only to realise, to her utter shock, that the addiction had followed her there.

“It ruined me in ways I could never have imagined, and the pain was even worse because I have a six-year-old child, but everything I had built came crashing down due to my betting habits, and I was left with no choice but to return home because surviving in Nairobi had become unbearable, yet, even when I got there, I soon realised that my addiction had not faded away, and before I knew it, I found myself entangled in yet another mess.”

She added that it was during her time there that she received her most brutal reality check, as, in her desperation, she approached a fellow businesswoman, deceiving her into lending her Ksh24,000 under the pretence that she needed to settle an outstanding loan.

However, unlike the previous people who had loaned her money, this particular businesswoman did not hesitate to take matters into her own hands, and, believing that Mirriam had attempted to con her and flee, she swiftly called for mob justice, leading to a merciless public beating.

Mirriam painfully admitted that it was in that moment, after experiencing such a harrowing ordeal, that she finally came to grips with the calculated precision of the betting industry, realising that, no matter how much money one risked, the entire sum could vanish within seconds, without a trace.

“I approached a friend, convinced her to lend me the money by lying that I needed to repay a loan, then immediately placed it all on Aviator, and just like that, every penny was gone, and before I could even think of what to do next, she had already called for a mob, who descended upon me with a ruthless beating, because they all believed I was attempting to flee with the money, but the truth was, I had placed the entire Ksh24,000 on a bet, only for it to crash instantly, and in those moments, I realised just how cunningly orchestrated this game is, because you could risk everything, yet within mere seconds, all of it would be gone, leaving you with nothing but regret, but at that time, I was trapped in a vicious cycle, where I would take a loan, place a bet, and when I lost, I would immediately borrow again, all while those around me remained oblivious to the fact that I was struggling with a full-blown addiction.”

What ultimately forced her to confront the severity of her situation and finally break free from the grip of her addiction was the brutality of that incident, as she later found herself entangled in a police case, and it was in that moment that she vowed never to place another bet again.

However, she bitterly reflected that the consequences of her reckless decisions had robbed her of everything she had once built, setting her life back by what felt like an insurmountable number of years.

She shared that she now lives as a tiny bedsitter with nothing to her name, sleeping on the cold floor, despite once having been a prominent businesswoman.

“After everything, I was taken to the police station, and it was there that I swore never to gamble again, but the damage was already done, and now, I have returned to Nairobi, trying to piece my life back together from the ground up, but the truth is, I have been left with absolutely nothing.”