Unease at CECAFA as Nicholas Musonye’s Successor is Ousted

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Unease at CECAFA as Nicholas Musonye’s Successor is Ousted

Joel Omotto 13:35 - 23.09.2025

The CECAFA leadership has kicked out Executive Director Auka Gecheo after reportedly falling out with a key ally.

Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) has kicked out Executive Director Auka Gecheo, ending days of speculation over his future.

The former SuperSport East Africa General Manager was suspended on Monday under unclear reasons but the tone of the statement that confirmed his ouster points to issues within the CECAFA top brass.

“The Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) wishes to inform stakeholders that, following an Executive Committee meeting chaired by the Acting President, Mr Alexandre Muyenge, and held via Zoom on September 18, 2025, it was resolved to suspend Mr Auka John Gecheo from the role of Executive Director of CECAFA,” the statement read in part.

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Gacheo Suspended in Unclear Circumstances

“The Executive Committee meeting followed an earlier consultative session of CECAFA presidents attended by seven member associations—Burundi, Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, and Somalia.

“CECAFA reaffirms its commitment to upholding the values of the organization and will provide further communication on the matter in the coming weeks,” the statement concluded.

Gacheo took over CECAFA in March 2020 when the position of secretary general was changed to Executive Director following the departure of Nicholas Musonye, who had been at the helm for 21 years.

CECAFA Lost Its Allure After Musonye

During Musonye’s reign, CECAFA made giant strides with a number of tournaments successfully held in the region for both countries and clubs but the organisation struggled following his departure with Gacheo getting much of the blame.

During Gacheo’s time in charge, CECAFA found it hard to attract sponsorship and even stage tournaments but looked to be on the rise again in recent months after landing new financial backers but there seems to have been issues behind the scenes.

Reports claim Gacheo had a fallout with a key CECAFA member association which was keen to have him kicked out and he is likely to be replaced by someone from the said country.

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