Fresh Allegations Stir Controversy in African Football Leadership
Veron Mosengo-Omba has been serving as the general secretary of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) since 2021. Recent reports have brought renewed scrutiny to governance issues within African football, focusing on allegations involving key football officials.
Pierre-Alain Mounguengui, the president of the Gabonese Football Federation, has been accused of failing to act on reports concerning sexual abuse and rape within Gabonese football. Mounguengui denies these allegations and has been held in custody for six months, with a final ruling pending as of December 2025. Despite the ongoing case, he was appointed CAF vice-president in April 2025.
In CAF’s 2023 executive committee election, a governance committee recommended that Mounguengui be declared ineligible to stand. However, Mosengo-Omba dismissed this recommendation, allowing Mounguengui to participate. Allegations have surfaced that Mosengo-Omba bypassed seeking independent legal opinion by consulting Mounguengui’s personal lawyer, raising concerns of a conflict of interest. The former governance committee chair expressed dissatisfaction with Mosengo-Omba’s approach.
Some sources suggest that Mosengo-Omba may have needed Mounguengui’s support to strengthen his position in central Africa amid disputes with football federation presidents in the Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, and the Central African Republic. CAF has not publicly commented on these allegations.
Previous Guardian reporting in October 2025 described Mosengo-Omba as running CAF like his proprietorship, fostering a culture of fear within the organisation. He is known to be close to FIFA president Gianni Infantino and is believed to influence the scheduling of the Africa Cup of Nations four-year cycles starting from 2028. Mosengo-Omba is reportedly considering stepping down when he reaches CAF’s retirement age of 66.
Additional troubling developments include the case of Paul Lambert Nguema Ebang Toung (Lumière), who was charged in August 2025 with paedophilia, public indecency, and obstruction of justice and has been provisionally suspended by Fegafoot. Furthermore, Patrick Assoumou Eyi (Capello) was investigated by FIFA; while initially cleared, he was later banned for life in March 2025 after admitting charges of raping, grooming, and exploiting young players. FIFA is also investigating whether Mounguengui failed to report alleged abuse by Eyi and other coaches to Gabonese authorities.
