The Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) general secretary, Véron Mosengo-Omba, may face suspension following accusations that he attempted to “whitewash” an investigation into serious misconduct allegations against him. CAF’s audit and compliance committee has alleged that there was “unauthorised interference” from Mosengo-Omba in a report concerning his conduct, as the external auditor was appointed by him.
Last month, CAF launched an investigation into Mosengo-Omba and his office after the head of governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) accused them of “impeding” her department’s work and violating internal governance and auditing regulations. CAF stated that its audit and compliance committee would appoint an independent international law firm or audit and professional services firm to conduct the investigation, with president Patrice Motsepe promising “appropriate action will immediately be taken if improper conduct or behaviour is identified”.
When the external auditor EY submitted a report, it was rejected by the committee, which stated in a report seen by the Guardian that it was “unable to have reasonable assurance on the accuracy of the opening balances for the period concerned”. The committee expressed surprise at receiving a “draft report of the audit and compliance committee” via CAF’s director of legal affairs, noting that it was prepared by an external consultant recruited by the CAF secretariat without informing the commission or obtaining its prior agreement.
At a meeting on 7 September, an EY consultant presented her report, but the audit and compliance committee members decided it “was prepared in such a way as to contradict all the allegations contained in the confidential report” by the GRC. They accused the CAF secretariat of contravening the principle of independence of their committee and exceeding its statutory powers.
The committee’s report also accused its vice-chair Mouhamed Nour-Dine Assindoh of liaising with the consultant over her report without its consent. It recommended Assindoh’s suspension until the end of his term in June 2027 and called on CAF to take “necessary decisions” regarding Mosengo-Omba. The committee believes that suspending Mosengo-Omba would be an appropriate first step.
Neither CAF nor Mosengo-Omba responded to repeated requests for comment from the Guardian. In July, Mosengo-Omba posted on X, stating that his efforts to regularize the institution were being sabotaged by a report containing grievances without documented proof.
At a CAF executive committee meeting in Nairobi last week, Motsepe insisted that the audit and compliance commission’s investigation into Mosengo-Omba would proceed without interference. “No one will tell them how to do their work,” he said. “They are independent.”
CAF was embarrassed when a livestream of the usually private executive committee meeting in Nairobi appeared on YouTube by mistake. Motsepe appeared to question the integrity of some executive committee members, saying, “You are not my friend and you are not helping me when you are not honest with me.”
A proposal to extend the 70-year age limit for prospective executive committee members by five years was passed without opposition, which could prompt the 71-year-old Egyptian and FIFA council member Hany Abo Rida to announce his candidacy against Motsepe in next year’s elections.
