Six People Have Been Arrested For Insulting Trailblazing Female Ref Salima

On January 20 at Nyamata, south of Kigali, Salima Mukansanga, the referee for Kiyovu Football Club, was frequently yelled at by supporters as she officiated their 0-0 tie with Gasogi United.

Six people have been arrested in Rwanda for allegedly insulting a woman who made history by being one of the first women to be chosen to be a referee for the men’s World Cup. This news came out on Saturday.

On January 20 at Nyamata, south of Kigali, Salima Mukansanga, the referee for Kiyovu Football Club, was frequently yelled at by supporters as she officiated their 0-0 tie with Gasogi United.

Three women and three men were detained on Thursday, according to Thierry Murangira, spokesman for the Rwanda Investigative Bureau (RIB), who spoke to AFP.

According to Murangira, “those arrested are being probed for flinging insults in public and for prejudice.”

They are currently in the custody of RIB and are believed to have committed these acts during a soccer match between Kiyovu FC and Gasogi United.

While we continue to look for additional people who were involved in this crime, investigations will go on as we put together their dossier to be handed to the prosecutors.

This Monday, the Rwandan Football Federation opened an investigation into the incident with a promise to hold those accountable.

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Public insults are punishable by two to six months in jail and a fine of $500 to $3000 in Rwanda, according to the Penal Code.

Anyone convicted of discrimination faces a five- to seven-year prison sentence.

Three women out of the 36 referees chosen by FIFA to officiate the 2022 World Cup in Qatar included Mukansanga on their list.

Mukansanga was the first woman to be selected for the men’s competition, though she did not wind up refereeing a match.

When she was hired as a referee for the Africa Cup of Nations last year, the 34-year-old created history. At the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, she also served as a referee.