African football’s general secretary accused of creating toxic culture of fear | Soccer

The Confederation of African Football’s general secretary, Véron Mosengo-Omba, has been accused of running the organisation as his “proprietorship” and creating a toxic culture of fear where employees are fired for speaking out against him.

Several former and current members of staff have told the Guardian there is an atmosphere of intimidation and paranoia at the Caf headquarters in Cairo, where Mosengo-Omba is accused of sidelining colleagues and silencing whistleblowers.

Those sacked include Hannan Nur – the former head of governance, risk and compliance (GRC) – who accused Mosengo-Omba in a damning report last year of “impeding” members of her department from performing their duties and, among other claims, of breaching internal governance and auditing regulations. It was later claimed by Caf’s audit and compliance committee that there had been unauthorised interference from Mosengo-Omba in an attempt to “whitewash” the subsequent investigation.

“Anyone who dares to speak up – anyone who is part of the report – is terminated, without cause, without any due process,” said one senior employee who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation. “We live in an organisation that deliberately hides the truth so as not to embarrass the secretary general and his entourage. Everything is political now.”

Abiola Ijasanmi, the former Caf chief operating officer, was dismissed in April after making allegations similar to Nur’s against the general secretary in another report. Noumandiez Doué, the head of refereeing, and Raúl Chipenda, the director of development, were sacked in August.

“We have clear instructions to control information and prevent certain things from leaking out; that’s how it is,” said one communications officer who did not want to be named. “When the two reports started to leak, they hunted down the mole – that was their concern rather than sorting out the issues.”

Employees claim the independent committees are no longer independent, with key decisions “manipulated” or “influenced” by Mosengo-Omba’s office. “Véron and some other directors are running Caf as their own proprietorship,” a former senior staff member said. “What is even more sad is the fact that the committees do not function. The independent committees are not independent. They’re influenced. Véron always tries to manipulate the decision and he’s always influencing them.”

Others allege that staff linked to Mosengo-Omba can now make decisions outside their departments, breaching Caf statutes and internal procedures. Multiple sources also accused Mosengo-Omba, a longstanding friend and former university colleague of the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, of favouritism and abuse of office, claiming he has appointed associates and compatriots from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to senior positions for which they were not qualified.

“He abuses his office to have people from his home country and people he knows in positions that they’re not qualified for,” another senior staff member said.
“Caf is no longer pursuing a policy of development, but rather serving individual interests.”

The allegations echo claims made in the GRC’s report last year that was submitted to Caf’s executive committee this year, which described a “stressful, unethical and unprofessional environment” under Mosengo-Omba’s leadership.

At the Caf general congress last week in the DRC, it announced profits of $9.48m for the 2023-24 financial year, which it said “reflects a strong increase in commercial revenues, driven by the growing global appeal of African football, the addition of new sponsors, and the implementation of strict financial controls by the Caf leadership”. But sources have alleged that Caf’s finances are fragile despite public claims of stability.

“The audit and compliance committee tried to raise the issue, but [Mosengo-Omba’s] modus operandi is to silence you or you’re out,” one insider said.

The alleged misuse of Fifa Forward funds – development money intended for African football projects – remains a particular concern. Staff claim that Mosengo-Omba has taken “sole control” of the funds, leading to irregularities that have not been independently audited.

Staff have also alleged that president Patrice Motsepe, who was re-elected unopposed for a second term in March, has rarely set foot in the Caf headquarters. “Motsepe is never here,” one senior employee said. “In four years of his mandate, he only came twice and met the staff once. He doesn’t have a clue what’s going on inside his own confederation.”

Mosengo-Omba is widely regarded as the de facto head of Caf, consolidating power over day-to-day operations, even though the most senior position is held by Motsepe. Mosengo-Omba turns 66 this month, the statutory retirement age under Caf’s regulations, but has indicated he will remain in post and relocate to Morocco for the men’s Africa Cup of Nations that starts in December. “He should not continue working beyond the 15th of October,” said one official.

Nur has filed a case for wrongful dismissal at the Cairo Regional Centre for International Arbitration that is expected to be heard in the coming months.

Caf did not respond to detailed questions about the allegations. Mosengo-Omba has previously denied wrongdoing in relation to the allegations made in the GRC report, insisting he has “acted with full integrity” and that “independent investigations will expose the falsity” of the claims.

Motsepe has expressed “total confidence” in Mosengo-Omba and said Caf was awaiting the findings of an independent inquiry set up this year to look into the GRC report’s allegations. However, for many within the organisation, the damage to morale and credibility is done.

“I feel very sorry for Caf and African football,” one long-serving employee said. “We are no longer pursuing development, only protecting people’s personal power.”