Embakasi East MP Paul Ongili, alias Babu Owino, has opened up about his dalliance with betting while he was a student pursuing his first degree.
In an interview with an NTV reporter, he recalled the time he gambled and won Ksh 100,000 with which he paid his fees and graduated.
Babu was a self-sponsored (parallel) student at the University of Nairobi from 2008 all through to 2012. He studied Actuarial Science, scoring a First Class Honors at the end of his academic journey.
Babu intimated to the journalist that through gambling, he has managed to get to where he is now, and the young people too should not be denied that chance.
He defended the betting industry, saying that most of the betting companies employ the youth given that they have shops all over the country where youths subsist given the harsh economic times and dwindling employment opportunities.
"Whatever little the youth can get, the government takes it away from them by shutting the firms down," he lamented, urging the government to reconsider the recent decision to close the betting firms.
Babu Owino has been at the forefront campaigning for what he calls fairness in regulating the betting industry, which he alleges is mired with conflict of interest and whose decisions are subject to interference by senior officials in the government.
Babu Owino had earlier faulted Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiangi's decision to revoke the licenses of major betting firms in what he says is 'waging war for personal gain.'
There are still more than 15 betting firms whose licenses are yet to be renewed, with 10 that were in the initial list having had their licenses restored after complying with the government's regulations.
