Vodacom Katika Skendo ‘Millionaire’ Whose Dream Ended at Vodacom...

GBT Director General Tarimba Abbas 

Dar es Salaam. In what appears to mirror the biblical David and Goliath clash, a Dar es Salaam resident is readying to sue Vodacom Tanzania over an SMS that would have made him a millionaire overnight.

Mr Daniel Njau, 47, is accusing the telecommunication giant of taking him and his family for a ride over the recently concluded “Jay Millionaire” lottery promotion.

He says he participated in the promotion that Vodacom ran for several months and struck the jackpot. He reportedly won Sh100 million, the highest prize.

“It was one of the happiest days of our lives as a family,” he says. “It was in January when, through a Vodacom SMS, the number of my son Innocent was announced the day’s winner of the Sh100 million.”

The younger Njau is a student in Moshi and had left the telephone number to his father as he went to school. “The number was enrolled in the Jay Millionaire promotion and I continued to play, receiving the daily short messages as the days progressed,” the senior Njau explains.

As he went about his daily routine, Mr Njau received the SMS that would have turned the Njau family’s lives around. The younger Njau’s number had won the promotion of the day’s top prize of Sh100 million.

He told The Citizen in an interview: “My heart skipped as I read the message. I could not believe our luck. I slept over the news, not having the guts to tell anyone. I decided to wait for a call from Vodacom, as promised, before breaking the news to other members of the family.”

The call did not come within the 48 hours Vodacom had reportedly said. As the clock ticked without any communication, Mr Njau became apprehensive. “Anxiety grew with each passing day and all I could do was hope the call that would make me a millionaire was a few seconds away.

That SMS remained permanently on display,” he said of the message that read: “Hongera! Wewe ni mshindi wa leo was TZS MILIONI 100. Utapigiwa simu na wafanyakazi wa Vodacom kwa maelezo zaidi ndani ya masaa 48.”

The message announces that the subscriber’s number was the winner of Sh100 million for a particular day’s draw. It says the lottery winner would be contacted by Vodacom employees within 48 hours. But that all-important call did not come and Mr Njau, a Dar es Salaam-based businessman, took it upon himself to visit Vodacom offices and those of the Betting Control Board to find out what was happening.

It has been five months of criss-crossing between the company and the board, according to Mr Njau. Vodacom now says that message was wrongly sent to his son’s registered number and reportedly appears reluctant to pay up. But Mr Njau is staying on the case. “I am shocked and disappointed but I have not given up on the matter,” he says. “We have decided to pursue justice in court and have already instructed our lawyer to file a case against Vodacom and the Betting Board.”

He has written several letters to the Board and details numerous meetings between himself, the board and Vodacom to no avail. The older Njau is acting on behalf of his son through the power of attorney.