This man Nicholas Musonye – Daily Nation

The Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (Cecafa) began a new era last Wednesday when long-serving Secretary General Nicholas Musonye stepped down as he promised last year.

In a ceremony held in Dar es salaam, Musonye told the outpouring media that he stood by his word when he announced while in Kigali last June that he will be stepping aside as the chief executive of the regional football body to pave way for new blood.

In a farewell message to the media, the outgoing supremo maintained that he was happy to leave Cecafa better than he found it.

“I think I tried my best. I can’t judge my success and failures. It is you people to judge me.”

The veteran football administrator was replaced by Auka Gecheo who previously worked as the General Manager of South African pay television outfit, SuperSport, in East Africa.

In 2010, then Fifa President Sepp Blatter, while attending a Confederation of African Football General Assembly in Luanda, Angola, hailed Musonye for his tireless and committed work to develop football in the region.

Musonye had moments earlier presented a Cecafa report to the assembly in which he detailed how the council had used football to help bring peace in troubled Somalia, and give youth a chance to explore their talent in the game.

Such are the lofty heights the former Nation Media Group sports journalist had ascended to.

In an interview with Nation Sport in Gulu, Uganda, last September, Musonye said: “Cecafa people should know that I’m leaving.”

“I’m not going to stick around anymore as people are murmuring. Time has come for me to go so that Cecafa can get new blood and drive the organisation forward.

“I had not expected to last this long, but conditions demanded so. Therefore, after doing what I could, I think it is time to go. And I am promising a smooth transition. This is going to happen.”

On Wednesday in Dar, Musonye lived to his word, when he arrived at the conference room accompanied by Cecafa President Wallace Karia and his successor Auka.

This time, the composed and smiling Musonye was having his last engagement with the Tanzanian media on matters regarding football.

He sat calmly and threw his eyes across the room as if to identify trouble shooters. As Karia made the opening remarks, the cameras were focused on Musonye, a sign that they were not sure that the man they loved and loathed in equal measure was making an exit.

And when he rose to speak in Kiswahili, he said: “Today is going to be a short ceremony. We have come here to usher in a new era by confirming my exit and the incoming of the new title and new man to run Cecafa.

“I want to thank you, the people of Tanzania, as well as our patron President Paul Kagame and the entire members of Cecafa for accepting me for 21 years.”

“Most of you in this room are 20 to 25 years old, meaning you have never known any other man at the helm of Cecafa other than me.

“But from today, the long signature tune of Musonye is being replaced by that of Auka who is coming in as an executive director.”

He went on: “We want to develop a culture of smooth succession in Cecafa so that other organisations in the region can emulate.

“For the first time this has happened in Cecafa, because there has never been a smooth transition of secretary general in the history of Cecafa. It has always been messy since 1926.”

The charismatic Musonye ascended to the Cecafa throne in 2000 after many years of turmoil in the regional football body.

In the aftermath of the 1998 Fifa elections, Cecafa found itself sucked in the muddy post-Fifa elections at which the regional organisation was accused of misconduct during the re-election of Sepp Blatter as Fifa President.

The entire leadership of Cecafa was suspended by Fifa and Cecafa banned from organising any competition. When the ban was lifted, after several months, there followed a series of counter-coups at the secretariat based at Nairobi’s Nyayo National Stadium.

As the Confederation of African Football was also preparing for their own elections, something had to be done to secure the Cecafa block vote. To find that solution, the then vice President of Caf, the late Farah Addo of Somali, staged a coup in Cecafa during the General Assembly in Kampala.

Dismissing everyone in Cecafa, he became the de-factor solo leader of regional organisation.

To secure the secretariat, he planted Musonye there and asked him to sort out the mess as he took off to Cairo.

He had given the veteran journalist a free hand to deal with the mess and it is believed that it is that accessibility to the top Caf leadership and the confidence they had in him that gave Musonye the teeth to dominate the affairs of the region for a long time.

During this time, he ran the show with little consultation, arguing that “democracy and too much consultation” was “a waste of time.”

Even after Addo passed on, Musonye had the grip of the region and took some risks that almost put Cecafa in danger.

However, to be on the safe side, he maneuverer and got favours in Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Sudan. With the big four on his side and the official support of Somali guaranteed, there was little challenge on him.

In 2013, he took a big gamble to stage the Kagame Cup in the volatile Kordofan and Darfur states in the Sudan. Earlier, in 2010, he had taken a daring move to charter a plane to take 10 teams and 50 officials in one swoop to Asmara, Eritrea, for what he termed as the “Peace Cup.”

When the Kenya Football Federation failed to honour the Kagame Cup in Darfur and Kordofan, Musonye told them that “they did not add any value” and promised that the tournament would be successful and flawless.

Way back in 2005, he had chased Kenya’s Harambee Stars from participating in the Senior Challenge Cup in Rwanda. The team had boycotted the tournament because of their internal problems and the organisers had gone ahead and excluded them from the fixtures.

Musonye told them not bother to travel after the start of the competition. They ignored and flew to Kigali only to face the wrath of Musonye who locked them out of the hotel and ordered them out Kigali at midnight.

The same fate befell Tanzanian giants Yanga who Musonye engineered to be suspended from all Cecafa competitions for five years and ignored pleas from Tanzania’s top leadership for leniency.

He defied and Yanga stayed out for three years. Yanga had boycotted a match with rivals Simba citing witchcraft.

During Musonye’s era, Cecafa enjoyed moments of stability, coupled with the ability to manage put together sponsors to organise competitions. He told the media in Kigali last year: “If I had powers, I cannot allow democracy in some organisations.

“You can really be bogged down by this thing called democracy. It is easier to achieve results by giving firm directives. Democracy creates a lot confusion.

“If you allow democracy in Cecafa, then you will be creating a disaster. Nothing will move.”

The fall of Caf President Isa Hayatou in 2017 was a big blow to the Cecafa boss.

He had been a permanent fixture in Caf circles serving in several committees and attending all Africa Cup of Nations finals and World Cup competitions.

The new Caf leadership began the purge and Musonye, in his true character, retreated to the region and kept a low profile for a while.

Last year, he emerged and organised the biggest Kagame Cup in Rwanda where 16 clubs attended.

It was in the last press conference at Kigali’s Amahoro Stadium where he announced his intention to step aside this year.

As he exits the stage, he will remain the longest serving Cecafa boss having overtaken Kenyan veteran James Tirop who served for 11 years. Musonye has served five Cecafa Presidents and organised over 80 competitions.

Last year alone, Cecafa staged six competitions in a period of seven months, with Uganda hosting two events in December.

This year, Cecafa has lined up nine competitions which should start next month.

Musonye says he is happy to leave when Cecafa can afford to host all women and youth competitions, courtesy of Fifa sponsorship.

The veteran journalist wouldn’t budge when prodded, leaving everyone guessing…