Véron Mosengo-Omba, the sole candidate to become the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo football federation, Fecofa, is at the centre of allegations of bullying and intimidation by members of the Confederation of African Football’s (Caf) audit and compliance committee (AACC).

The allegations centre on a two-hour meeting between Mosengo-Omba and the audit and compliance committee on 19 October 2024. During the meeting Mosengo-Omba, at the time the Caf general secretary, threatened to sue the members of the AACC and report them to the Fifa ethics committee because they endorsed a 2023-24 governance, risk and compliance (GRC) report which was highly critical of Mosengo-Omba’s ethical conduct. The Guardian has listened to a recording of the meeting.

A member of the AACC who attended the meeting told the Guardian: “First of all Véron [Mosengo-Omba] called this meeting instead of our chair [Mohammed Zaazi of Morocco] … and started the meeting with an introduction … [but] three minutes into it, he is talking about suing us if we report that there are issues in the financial statements.

“[Our relationship] started off well before the time came for us to review and discuss the audit reports and financial statements. We started asking questions, and boom, we were suddenly at war with the secretary general’s office. At times I had to ask why the head of legal [Felix Majani, who has since resigned] was in [that meeting] and other meetings rather than the head of governance [Hannan Nur].

“A committee meeting should only have the members [of the audit and compliance committee] and the secretary general. The head of governance should be there as a secretary, and whoever else needs to be present from the [Caf] office needs to be invited and needs to leave after their subject matter has been exhausted.”

The member of the AACC the Guardian has spoken to says Mosengo-Omba threatened to report all of them to the Fifa ethics committee for what was written in the 2023-24 governance, risk and compliance (GRC) report and that Mosengo-Omba felt that the AACC was complicit in a campaign of “calumny” against him. “He said [it] could attract Fifa sanctions. He threatened to sue all of us and he threatened us with his lawyers. I have wanted to resign many times but I do not want to leave [the AACC] in a mess.”

The nine-page 2023-24 GRC report, which has been seen by the Guardian, was written by the head of governance, Nur, who in it says she was “obstructed” in completing her compliance duties and that there was “undue interference in GRC work” from Mosengo-Omba’s office.

In the report, Nur writes: “To position Caf in the realm of international football organisations, in the past year, the head of GRC drafted a newly updated compliance programme which includes the following documents: compliance handbook, code of conduct, code of conduct for third parties and good governance principles … For almost a year, the office of the general secretary held back these documents for review … The constant obstruction addresses an overall perception of widespread mistrust which fuels beliefs of professional inadequacy and incompetency.”

Nur was dismissed last year and is suing Caf for victimisation at work and unfair dismissal.

Mosengo-Omba did not reply to the Guardian when asked to comment about the allegations. He 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. The Guardian has also contacted Mohammed Zaazi, as well as the other members of the AACC, to hear their account of the meeting in October 2024, but they have not responded.

Miguel Maduro, the former chair of Fifa’s governance committee, who was advocate-general of the European court of justice from 2003 to 2009, has called for the dismissal of Nur to be investigated. “It’s suspicious but one needs a proper investigation to establish the link between the report and her firing,” he told the Guardian. “Only a proper investigation will be able to establish that. I can only say that such an investigation, obviously, should take place.”

Mosengo-Omba, 66, resigned as Caf general secretary in March, having stayed on beyond the mandatory retirement age of 63, saying: “After over 30 years of an international professional career dedicated to promoting an ideal form of football that brings people together, educates, and creates opportunities for hope, I have decided to step down from my position as secretary general of Caf to devote myself to more personal projects.”

In October 2025 the Guardian reported that Mosengo-Omba had been accused of running Caf as his “proprietorship” and creating a toxic culture of fear, where employees are fired for speaking out against him. He has denied any wrongdoing.

In March Mosengo-Omba became the ninth and final candidate to confirm he would stand in the Fecofa elections, which take place on Wednesday. The other eight have pulled out or been declared ineligible, with Mosengo-Omba poised to assume office and lead the country to their second World Cup.

Mosengo-Omba’s Fecofa presidential candidature has been a subject of controversy. Having left the DRC for further studies in Europe at 18 he renounced his citizenship to become a Swiss national as the constitution of the central African country forbids dual nationality. It remains unclear whether he has renounced his Swiss nationality and legally restored his Congolese citizenship.

The Caf president, Patrice Motsepe, told the Guardian last year that “he had complete trust and confidence in Véron [Mosengo-Omba]”.

Jean-Claude Mukanya, the former DRC captain, who was one the candidates ruled ineligible, has called for the elections to be suspended and for an investigation into alleged irregularities in the process. A statement said: “To Fifa and Caf, we ask for the opening of a serious investigation so that light is shed on the electoral process in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to establish the responsibilities of each other before deciding to reschedule new deadlines for the elections of the executive committee of the Fecofa.”

Additional reporting by Ed Aarons