South Africa’s sports minister wants to know how a continent of 54 countries ended up with one slot.

“What kind of thinking is that? Now you want the whole continent of 54 countries, the whole continent of 54 countries, to have only one?” Gayton McKenzie said after Formula 1 awarded Rwanda a 10-year hosting deal.

The agreement, confirmed by F1 on 13 October, will bring the first African Grand Prix since 1993 to a purpose-built Bugesera circuit roughly 40km south of Kigali. F1 president Stefano Domenicali called it “a landmark moment”, with the inaugural race expected early in the next decade once the track is finished.

McKenzie: ‘This is not a raffle’

McKenzie built his case on the numbers.

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“While the Middle East got four F1s, the US got three. Europe got nine,” he said.

“Italy, a country smaller than South Africa, has two. Now you want the whole continent of 54 countries must only have one.”

He pushed back on the framing of Rwanda having “beaten” South Africa, insisting the two bids were running on separate tracks.

“This is not a raffle. I’m going to repeat that. This is not a raffle,” McKenzie told reporters, adding that South Africa is still aiming for a calendar slot in 2028 or 2029 and has lined up backing from MTN, Betway, Discovery and Canal+.

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DR Congo renews its protest

The row widened almost immediately. On 15 October, DR Congo’s foreign minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner issued a fresh statement opposing the choice of host, saying her country welcomes F1’s return to the continent but not in Kigali.

“Giving Paul Kagame this platform would help polish the image of an authoritarian leader whose government has helped fuel a devastating war in our country,” Wagner said.

She first wrote to Domenicali and F1 leadership in February 2025, warning them that awarding a Grand Prix to Rwanda would be “morally indefensible”. Wagner also called for “credible, independent guarantees that no money used to host the race comes from conflict-linked minerals or the exploitation of Congolese resources”, and said Kinshasa supports South Africa’s rival bid instead.

The M23 shadow

Kinshasa, the United States and UN experts accuse Rwanda of backing the M23 rebel group that has driven mass displacement in eastern DR Congo. In March 2026, Washington imposed sanctions on Rwanda’s military and four senior officers over that support, a move Kigali rejected as one-sided.

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Rwanda has framed its cross-border posture as a security measure and continues to court sport as a form of soft power, with high-profile shirt-front deals already in place at leading European football clubs.

“Rwanda has done the work. We came on board,” McKenzie said, before repeating that South Africa’s own bid remains alive and that the country is targeting a return to the calendar before the end of the decade.

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