27 Year Old Pregnant Woman Jailed for 3 Years After Gambling Away Chama Money on Aviator

Following the case of a young woman who was caught and then imprisoned for gambling away Ksh. 200,000, which she had been entrusted to safeguard as an informal Sacco treasurer, Inooro TV’s popular Njeraini Citu program sparked a wave of reactions.

Seven months pregnant, 27-year-old Dorothy Katulu has spent the past month at the Lang’ata Women’s prison. On January 17, 2025, she was sentenced to three years in prison.

In an interview with the show’s producer Simon Kibe, Katulu detailed the circumstances that ultimately resulted in her arrest and subsequent incarceration, expressing her remorse at being a jailbird at just 27 years old and pregnant.

“Life is difficult here. I’m pregnant right now and can’t afford healthy meals because of the terrible cuisine here. Life is difficult. The father of my child has stopped communicating with me. There is nothing I can do, therefore I’ll have to give birth while I’m here.”

“I used to have some money saved for myself, but now I’ve spent it all,” she continued. My baby is on the way, yet I have nothing left.”

Katulu recounted how she was employed at a printing company before being elected treasurer of their local “Chama” by the apartment’s occupants.

“I gave them their money the first year without any issues. In the second year, I did the same. “And the third as well,” she explained.

She acknowledged, however, that she was persuaded to bet some enormous sums of money that belonged to the “Chama” in December 2024, which ultimately resulted in significant losses and an arrest.

We were supposed to divide the remaining cash on December 16. They took out Ksh. 2.4 million to send to the different members. However, they placed Ksh. 200,000 into my MPESA account so that they could send out the cash because I needed it for a transaction,” she clarified.

Katulu continued, “At the same time, her close friend who was also a member of the ‘Chama’ advised her to gamble the extra money and probably double it, as he had done the same and won heavily.”

“He suggested that I sign up for the online betting game ‘Aviator’. Since I was the only provider for the family, I reasoned that since I had Ksh. 200,000 on my phone, I could try my luck and perhaps win enough to give them money for Christmas or school fees.”

Katulu claims that she lost all of her money after signing up for the gaming site, which caused her to have issues with the “Chama” individuals to whom the money belonged right away.

“Ksh. 1.9 million had already been distributed by me. She disclosed that only four individuals had not got their money.

Katulu was hauled to court on December 17 after being detained on December 15. She was sentenced on January 17, a month later, after her case was swiftly decided.

The 27-year-old continued by disclosing that although her creditors had initially been understanding, they were unable to wait any longer because she was unable to raise the money during the grace period.

She continued by saying that when she discovered that the parcel was actually registered to every member of her family, her efforts to persuade her father to sell their piece of land were in vain.

In addition to expressing sympathy for Katulu because of her pregnancy and seeming sorrow, several viewers of the show criticized her for her lack of knowledge and obvious carelessness with money.