The Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) has provisionally suspended five individuals from football activities over alleged involvement in a match fixing.
The match manipulation scheme is linked to a Uganda Premier League (UPL) game between Kitara FC and Express FC in December 2024.
Those suspended include former Uganda Cranes and KCCA FC midfielder Mike Mutyaba, Ashraf Miiro and goalkeeper Emmanuel Kalyowa.
Also suspended are Mbazira Ashraf and Katende Ivan, as investigations into the December 21, 2024 fixture gather pace.
In a statement released on Thursday, FUFA said the Investigatory Chamber of its Ethics and Disciplinary Committee took action after receiving a betting alert from FIFA indicating that the match had been manipulated for betting purposes.
According to FUFA, suspicious betting patterns suggested the game had been fixed in advance with knowledge that Express FC would lose and concede at least five goals.
“After the match, FUFA was informed by FIFA via a betting report that the game had been fixed for betting purposes, with prior knowledge that Express FC would lose and concede at least five goals,” the federation said.
Preliminary findings from the investigation point to Mutyaba as the central figure in the alleged plot.
FUFA says Mutyaba worked closely with Katende Ivan, a figure previously linked to match-fixing investigations, to orchestrate the scheme.
Investigators believe Mutyaba, a renown critic of FUFA president Moses Magogo, introduced Katende to Express FC CEO Ashraf Miiro, after which the trio allegedly agreed to manipulate the outcome of the match.
“Preliminary findings show Mutyaba coordinated the match-fixing with Katende, a known figure in FUFA match-fixing investigations,” the statement reads.
“Mutyaba introduced Katende to Express FC CEO Miro and the three conspired to manipulate the results of the match.”
The probe has also uncovered suspicious betting activity connected to the alleged scheme.
“Evidence indicates Ugandan betting accounts linked to Katende won millions of shillings at a Tanzanian-based betting company, which blocked payment after detecting fraud,” FUFA noted.
On the pitch, investigators say the plan relied on specific players to influence the result.
Goalkeeper Emmanuel Kalyowa and defender Mbazira Ashraf are said to have been recruited to execute the manipulation during the match.
“The preliminary investigations have so far indicated the involvement of players goalkeeper Kalyowa and Mbazira who were recruited by Mutyaba to execute the fix on the field of play,” the federation added.
FUFA further revealed that Mutyaba allegedly took charge of technical decisions on match day, exploiting the absence of Express head coach Badru Kaddu.
“Mutyaba assumed technical matters of the team on match day, taking advantage of head coach Kaddu Badru's absence.”
The football governing body says the matter has now been escalated to state authorities.
“FUFA has formally engaged the Criminal Investigations Directorate and the process is ongoing.”
The federation stressed that the suspensions are provisional as investigations continue, reiterating its commitment to safeguarding the integrity of the sport.
“FUFA remains committed to protecting the integrity of football in Uganda by fighting all forms of match manipulation.”
The federation has also encouraged the public to report any information related to match manipulation through its confidential reporting platforms.
