The Democratic Republic of Congo has strongly criticized Formula 1’s announcement of a planned African Grand Prix in neighboring Rwanda, with the country’s foreign minister describing the decision as “morally indefensible.”
Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, the DRC’s foreign minister, said in a statement that hosting the race would “polish the image of an authoritarian leader” whose government has helped fuel a devastating war in her country. The comments came after F1 announced a 10-year agreement for the event on October 13, 2026, with Rwandan President Paul Kagame joining F1 Chief Executive Stefano Domenicali and FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem at the announcement in Kigali.
The race is scheduled for the early 2030s at a circuit yet to be built in Bugesera, near the capital. It would mark Formula 1’s return to Africa for the first time since 1993.
Kayikwamba Wagner noted that she had warned F1 authorities in February 2025 against allowing Rwanda to host a Grand Prix. While welcoming the sport’s return to the continent, she urged F1 to back rival bids from South Africa instead and called for “credible, independent guarantees” that no funding for the event would come from conflict-linked minerals or the exploitation of Congolese resources.
The criticism occurs against a backdrop of accusations by the DRC, the United States, and UN experts that Rwanda supports the M23 rebel group in eastern Congo. Rwanda has rejected the claims, stating its actions are defensive measures against threats from armed groups across the border.
