Hustler from Eastleigh Joins the Millionaires List in ‘Shukrani Kocho Kocho’ Promotion

25-year-old food vendor from Eastleigh, Mohamud Abdikadhar Ali, has joined the millionaires’ league after winning 1 million shillings in the on-going Shukrani KochoKocho consumer promotion.

The third born in a family of ten, who works at a roadside kiosk, dropped out of school in class eight due to his poor background. He lost his father at a tender age and his ailing mother could not afford to keep him in school or provide for the family’s basic needs.

“I am very relieved by this win. It will really transform our lives – my siblings and I. I have had a tough time trying to make ends meet for ten years now. Today is a turning point for me. I intend to become a certified Chef and start a catering business. The money will go a long way in advancing my siblings’ education and taking care of my mother’s medical expenses. I thank Safaricom for celebrating me today,” said Ali.

He moved to Nairobi from Kitale at the tender age of 15 to look for menial jobs to help his mother and siblings. His current earnings are so meager that they cannot cater for his rent and support his asthmatic mother and siblings. He recounts having tasted the bitter side of life on several occasions.

Ali hopes all these are in the past and will focus instead, on changing his family’s fortunes. Besides being a certified Chef, he plans to start a catering business in weddings and at big gatherings.

Other winners who have joined the millionaires club in the fifth week of the promotion include:  Clemencia Osebe Guto, a 52-year old farmer from Kisii County, Nyanza region; Stephen Achola, 37, who works at a children’s home in Machakos County, Eastern region; Boniface Macharia Chege, 29-year old carpenter from Nyandarua County, Central Kenya region; Suleka Haret Nur from Garissa, North Eastern region and Hesbon Oyiel Ogwangi from Western region. Nairobi and Coast winners will be announced in the coming week once the winners are reached.

The promotion enters its sixth week and has so far seen more than three million customers from across the country awarded with weekly cash and daily airtime prizes worth millions of shillings.

“We are in the sixth week of this campaign and we are honored to witness the transformational stories from our customers. We join hands in celebrating their stories. We have structured the promotion to ensure we reward a millionaire in each county and celebrate our customers for being with us. I encourage all our customers to keep topping up or transacting on M-PESA for a chance to be the next millionaire,” said Sylvia Mulinge, Chief Customer Officer, Safaricom

The promotion is designed to have weekly draws for each of the eight regions to reward customers.

In addition, more than 500,000 customers are expected to win cash prizes of KES 1,000 and above while more than 5 million other customers stand to win daily airtime prizes.