FIFA Council member and Congo FA chief Omari arrested on corruption allegations

By Paul Nicholson

April 18 – Police in Congo have swooped to arrest DR Congo Football Association (Fecofa) president Constant Omari along with two Fecofa vice presidents, Roger Bondembe (finance director) and Theobad Binamungu (national team manager), Their detention comes as part of a corruption investigation looking at embezzlement of government and football funds.

Omari also sits on the FIFA Council and is a vice president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Also arrested was Congo’s secretary general for sports and leisure, Barthélemy Okito Oleka.

The investigation centres around the misuse of $1 million earmarked for four national team matches. But this is not the first time that Omari has been rumoured of corrupt activity.

What is different this time is that there appears to be a government appetite for investigating him. Omari is a close friend of Moïse Katumbi, a wealthy Congolese businessman living in exile who is also a leader of the opposition party currently organising itself to challenge elections in Congo expected before the end of the year.

Omari has frequently faced accusations of financial mismanagement of the federation and its often lack of funds. Congo’s technical centre has had more than $2 million of FIFA development money invested in its build, making it one of the most expensive on the African continent, but it is still remains unused and incomplete.

A key supporter of FIFA president Gianni Infantino in his 2016 election campaign, Omari organised private meetings of African federation presidents to discuss Infantino’s manifesto and pledges. He was also a supporter of Madagascar’s Ahmad Ahmad for the African confederation (CAF) presidency, having previously been a proud and long-standing supporter of Issa Hayatou, who Ahmad defeated in that election.

Omari’s removal from the football political landscape, if permanent, throws open CAF politics and reopens integrity issues as another of its national federation leaders finds himself battling on the wrong side of the law.

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