The world football governing body, FIFA, through its Disciplinary Committee, has handed a lifetime global ban to three Ugandan football officials over match-fixing.
The officials sanctioned are former KCCA and Uganda Cranes striker Mike Mutyaba, Emmanuel Kalyowa, and Miiro Ashraf Mwanje.
The trio, formerly attached to Express FC—a Uganda top-flight club—were found guilty of involvement in match-fixing during the 2024 Uganda Premier League match between Kitara FC and Express FC.
Mutyaba, who was the coach at the time, Mwanje, the then club CEO, and goalkeeper Kalyowa were faulted for influencing the 7–0 defeat suffered by Express FC against hosts Kitara FC on December 21, 2024.
Following the shocking result, the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) launched investigations, which found the trio, along with several accomplices, guilty of match manipulation.
FUFA subsequently compiled a report and submitted it to FIFA.
On March 12, 2026, FUFA’s Investigatory Chamber received a FIFA betting integrity report indicating that the match had been fixed for betting purposes, with prior knowledge that Express FC would lose and concede at least five goals.
Preliminary findings revealed that Mutyaba coordinated the match-fixing scheme with Katende Ivan, a known figure in FUFA’s previous match-fixing investigations. It was established that Mutyaba, Katende, and Express FC CEO Miiro Ashraf conspired to manipulate the outcome of the match.
Investigations further indicated that Ugandan betting accounts linked to Katende won millions through bets placed with a Tanzanian betting company, which later blocked payments after detecting fraud.
The probe also revealed the involvement of players, including goalkeeper Emmanuel Kalyowa and Mbazira Ashraf, who were allegedly recruited by Mutyaba to execute the plan on the field of play. Mutyaba reportedly assumed control of technical matters on match day, taking advantage of the absence of head coach Badru Kaddu.
According to the FIFA communication seen by this website, Mutyaba, Mwanje, and Kalyowa have been banned from all football-related activities for life worldwide. Mbazira’s case remains pending a final decision, while seven other individuals from different clubs have received bans ranging from five to ten years.
Those banned include:
FUFA has since engaged the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) to handle the matter, and investigations are ongoing.
Torch Media Africa
