Rayon Sports president Sadate Munyakazi has admitted that the club made payments between 2014 and 2016 to fix match results in the Rwanda Premier League. Munyakazi, who is currently serving a six-month ban from all football activities, made the shocking revelation on Monday, calling out the club’s former officials of embezzling resources and evading taxes. He said the main reason behind Rayon’s persistent troubles on and off the field is a section of notable influential figures – some of whom, former presidents of the club – that are ferociously opposed to the clubs progress. “When I was elected as club president [on July 7, 2019], I made it clear that I intended to fix what had been broken over the years and put everything to order. That is why I was fought by those who were involved in the mishandling of the club,” said Munyakazi. While over Rwf1 billion was embezzled between 2014 and 2019, Munyakazi added, the club, through its leaders, was also involved in match-fixing schemes, stressing that the practice is against fair competition that football is about. For years, there have always been reports of match-fixing claims in Rwandan club football but none has been clearly and openly investigated to get the truth or bring the culprits to book. When Times Sport contacted him via phone call for a comment, Munyakazi said that “I have nothing to say about it at the moment.”
