Local football governing body (Ferwafa) Secretary General Henry Muhire has lost the confidence of members of the federation who want him dismissed from his job over a a contract with Dutch sportswear company Masita for sports kits of national football teams, apparently without the involvement of his bosses. Reports indicate that Muhire in May signed a contract with Masita to supply national team kits without informing the federation’s executive committee, which reportedly angered FA president Olivier Nizeyimana so much he considered resigning. Addressing Ferwafa General Assembly over the weekend, Nizeyimana told members that his office was “surprised to hear that Muhire put pen to paper on Masita’s contract without the federation’s consent” in what some members of federation described as ‘abuse of power.’ Walter Hunde Rubegasa, the president of second tier side Rugende FC, suggested that the federation should not forgive the mistake. “This points to signs of disorder and a lack of teamwork in the federation. I don’t understand how he signed the contract without your [Nzeyimana] knowledge yet you are his superior. I insist that, if it were me, I would dismiss him,” Rubegasa said. Many members backed Rubegasa’s position. Amavubi currently wear Errea kits but the controversial contract could force Rwanda to switch to Masita, or the federation would be at risk of paying Masita over US$2 million (Rwf2 billion) in fines for failure to honour the contract. Masita is reported to have threatened to drag the federation to the world football governing body (FIFA) for further intervention as long as they resist abiding to the contract’s terms and conditions. The contract is said to be one of the reasons that Muhire got suspended from his job in June before he returned to office two weeks later. The SG has only been in office for six months. The former sports journalist, alongside former Ferwafa head of competitions Felix Nzeyimana and referee Javan Tuyisenge, are also suspected of committing crimes of forgery and falsification. The trio is, according to Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB), charged with three counts of alleged forgery, falsification, and use of forged documents in an attempt to disqualify Rwamagana FC from the second division league knockout stage. The investigation into the three suspects started a few days after Ferwafa filed a case in RIB requesting for investigation into the institution over corruption cases. While a number of the federation’s members want Muhire dismissed, Nizeyimana called for patience as his case is still under investigation. “Yes, what you are requesting (to dismiss Muhire) is possible but it can’t be done now. His case is still under investigation and we can’t take any decision until we get the outcomes of investigations. I am the federation president but I am not the executive committee…we will first have to discuss the issue,” he said.
