AFCON 2025 Final: Other irregularities during the Appeal Jury
Not content with having disrupted the functioning of the Jury d'Appel deciding the outcome of the final of the AFCON 2025 between Morocco and Senegal, CAF is being associated with other interferences that further compromise the independence of the Jury. A close friend of Patrice Motsepe, Rebeka Haimbili, responsible for governance, risk and compliance, was physically present during the meetings while her prerogatives are officially completely separate from the appeal committee.
Philemon MBALE · Author profile ·
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As the days go by, the revelations about the processes used by CAF for the most important legal case in its modern history exceed understanding.
After having dismissed the head of the independent jurisdictional bodies two weeks from the Appeal Panel without officially replacing him, which allowed the director of legal affairs, Cédrick Aghey, from interfering and personally choosing the jury members requested by the president of this commission, the Confederation of African Football outright allowed the presence of a director who had nothing to do with the said commission during the hearing.
A relative of Motsepe accused of covering the compromising files
Former lawyer at the Namibian High Court, Rebeka Haimbili joined CAF as personal assistant to Petrus Damaseb, a judge at the Namibian Supreme Court who chairs the CAF Governance Committee.
A shadowy figure reputedly close to President Motsepe, Damaseb had been ordered to 'investigate' following multiple internal reports alerting on the malfunctions and interferences of the administration, particularly around the secretary general, Véron Mosengo-Omba. Quickly finishing his investigation, the judge cleared all the targeted people, thus allowing Motsepe to reassure the audience: everything was going well in the best of worlds at the CAF.
Sidelining the people who warned about the real situation internally, CAF appointed Rebeka Haimbili to the position of Hannan Nur, the head of governance, risk and compliance who had written a detailed report on Véron Mosengo’s actions-Omba, Sarah Mukuna or Cédrick Aghey, who all kept their jobs – even obtaining a promotion in the case of the latter.
Now director, the Namibian woman was accused of continuing the work of «laundering» started and especially not to disturb the established order within the CAF.
Confidentiality and independence issue
Functioning separately from the administration to ensure its independence, the Appeal Panel meeting on March 17 nevertheless saw the presence of Rebeka Haimbili who had absolutely nothing to do with this commission (The members of the Jury d'Appel were physically present in Cairo and organized a video conference on Zoom with the Moroccan and Senegalese parties, editor’s note).
No matter her training as a lawyer, she could not attend the hearings that were supposed to be held in a confidential setting.
"It is a serious infringement on the progress of a legal procedure,"
several people working for the CAF say with regret.
«How can we guarantee the independence of a commission by allowing the administration to appoint juries and have a director present during the hearings?»
A legitimate question that adds new doubts about the real motivations of the leaders and the overall functioning of the CAF regarding its most important legal procedure in its history.