Whilst in October last month, most of Africa and many around the world
celebrated the signing of the first African Formula 1 license with Rwanda
with staging of the inaugural F1 Grand Prix by target 2030, already serious
questions and concerns are arising challenging the decision to grant the
license to Rwanda especially around Eastern DRC security whose conflict,
blamed on president Paul Kagame and Rwanda, seems set for even bigger
outbreak when around the same time of the signing of the Rwanda F1
agreement.
In nearby neighbour Eastern DRC, former DRC president Joseph Kabila
also held his own press conference launch of a united front of major rebel
movements in readiness for war against DRC president Felix Tshisekedi and
topple his government alleged with the backing of Rwanda.
Can, therefore, F1 license hold in Rwanda given the increasingly eminent
security threat? Only time will tell in the coming months. What should be of
most concern and interest is, should the Rwanda F1 license be reconsidered
by Formula One Management (FOM) and the world motorsport governing
body FIA, to whom shall it be passed on to? In case we in South Africa,
preferred in and led by Cape Town don’t have government support and
FOM is forced to abandon Africa and grants the license to an overseas
country.
Already, the DRC president Felix Tshisekedi, preparing for the coming war
with his erstwhile nemesis, Joseph Kabila (and by extension allegedly Paul
Kagame), is lobbying world support and called for withdrawal of the
Rwanda F1 license and be awarded South Africa (of course president
Tshisekedi is not aware that the known government supported Kyalami F1
bid has long been rejected by FOM-see below).

For the first time, we, behind the Cape Town F1 bid (and city development)
hereby finally break our silence and set the record straight and educate South
Africa, as indeed rest of the continent and the world on why and how South
Africa, the leading motor racing country on the continent, lost the F1 license
to Rwanda, a country with no established motor racing history.
This on authority, until earlier this year, being confirmed the lead F1 bid of
the preferred location Cape Town, reigning best city in the world.
Firstly, contrary to especially our president, Cyril Ramaphosa joining in on
congratulations around the world to President Paul Kagame on its win with
the statement that we in South Africa cannot be winning everything, which
can be interpreted to mean, the country, especially government, gave it its
best and all and concedes to defeat by Rwanda.
This is far from the truth, in-fact, the opposite is the case, that is, the
minister of sport, arts and culture, Gayton Mckenzie, deliberately
undermined and sabotaged South Africa’s preferred and best lead bid for the
first (and only currently) Africa F1 license and the president knowingly or
unknowingly is complicit, as we shall go on to reveal.
To begin with, it is very important to understand what is required and makes
for a successful F1 bid, especially in the context of the comparisons between
the “South Africa” and Rwanda F1 bids.
Milestones that need to be reached in submission of a Formula1 bid cover
and must have proof of: (a) financing for the F1 circuit infrastructure, F1
fees and Grand Prix overall hosting and operational costs for the expected
10 calendar years contract duration, (b) experienced F1 circuit design and
construction to be accredited by FIA, (d) experienced F1 GP promoter, (c)
support of government (national, provincial and local), (e) security
safeguards, (f) ancillary socio-economic benefits for communities in the F1
GP host city.
It must be noted before-hand, as well, that, unlike rest of other motor racing
codes, Formula1, over recent years, has grown and expanded beyond being
less a motor racing sporting event and more a hospitality, entertainment,

tourism and investment transactional event platform. Investment in it,
therefore, is a consideration beyond motor racing sports event.
Also, F1 has grown so exponentially into a multi-billion-Dollar investment
brand platform with global viewership and physically attended by hundreds
of thousands of high net-worth individuals (our Cape Town F1 bid erstwhile
technical promoter partner, Silverstone F1 GP in the UK was attended past
July by +500,000 just as in 2025 and last month October Singapore F1 GP
was attended by +300 000).
Hence consideration by FOM of new future F1 license applicants have to
demonstrate that they can accommodate the large number of hundreds of
thousands of high net-worth fans including dollar billionaires and
multimillionaires. Because it cannot be expected for a host city promoter
investment in that amount of 5 star hotel accommodation figures for just a 3
day event a year, hence F1 partnered with largest cruise liner company MSC
with capacity to be able to ship in and accommodate hundreds of thousands
attending G1 GP, therefore only a coastal F1 GP fits the future business
model of F1.
This now brings us to why our Cape Town F1 bid has been the preferred
and in the lead (even ahead of Rwanda in particular) but nonetheless lost to
it.
Our Cape Town F1 City is to become the best future and only Grand Prix of
all, as long haul destination, offering the best immediate hospitality and
tourism within the city (reigning best city in the world) and surrounding
winelands environs and as well, several weeks of pre and post F1 GP
regional tourism offerings with a two hour flight radius, from wildlife safaris
of the Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga and Eastern Cape-Nelson
Mandela Bay region within around 5km’s of each other only Big 7 in the
world Addo Elephant Park and rated best private game reserve in the world,
Shamwari, to Namibian sand dune beach coastline, from one of the 8
Wonders of the World, in Zimbabwe-Zambia, Victoria Falls (Mosi-oa-Tunya
“smoke that thunders) to the Mozambican Bazaruto Archipelago, from the
Lesotho highland mountains ski-resort city to the Kwazulu-Natal coastal

beach resorts etc (refer to Cape Town F1 bid initial proposal and regional
tourism impact draft presentation).
Our Cape Town F1 Circuit City Development, designed by our technical
partner and leading F1 circuit design company Tilke Engineers & Architects)
is earmarked on +500ha land site in the city (only available large-size
undeveloped land in the city) to boast own private airport for landing of
private jets and a super yacht marina as well as Cruise ship terminal
(augmenting and extended and larger to the ones already in construction in
the city by V&A Waterfront), additional to the current Cape Town
International Airport and an equally large one about to be developed just
few km from Cape Town, with ever growing and expanding hotel numbers
creating capacity for travel and accommodation and hospitality experience
for several hundreds of thousands.
Whilst F1 GP on its own cannot be commercially sustainable, not only, as
can be expected, that we would have a vision and practical delivery of all year
round motor sporting and general events activities to become commercially
sustainable (as with our then technical promoter Silverstone in the UK), our
Cape Town F1, with a US$3billion (R50billion) investment is platform and
catalyst for a further target US$30billion (R500billion) in 2027 investment in
South Africa and regional tourism and economic development were the F1
license to be issued during target first half of 2027.
In South Africa in particular, it is also a platform and catalyst for Marshal
Plan size funding mobilization towards turnaround solution to the current
“+8million youth un-employment ticking time-bomb” not to mention
similar situation in the region with Lesotho in particular, having declared
youth unemployment a national disaster.
Whilst, as preferred and lead F1 bid earlier in 2026, we have been confident
of completing and submitting to FOM our final F1 bid having achieved all
of the above requirements and milestones and would have already been
awarded the F1 license by end of 2026, the only milestone we had not been
able to achieve is government support, because of our sports, art s and
culture minister Gayton Mckenzie undermining and sabotaging our
preferred and lead Cape Town F1 bid. Whilst detailed report on minister

Mckenzie is was prepared on July 12, 2026, following are few supporting
basic facts as to how and why South Africa lost the F1 bid to Rwanda as it is
quite clear as to why Rwanda in particular could not have won against South
Africa but did anyway:
a) From the above compared to what is required for an F1 bid license to
be considered, it was quite clear that minister Gayton Mckenzie’s sole
exclusive support for the Kyalami F1 bid would never succeed,
especially against our Cape Town F1 bid as Kyalami simply would
never qualify hence around October 3 rd , 2025 during the Singapore F1
GP, minister Mckenzie’s final meeting (after those before) with FOM
resulted in the rejection of his Kyalami F1 bid (in favour of our Cape
Town F1 bid). To-date November 2026, 13 months later, he has never
informed government and the public, South Africa. He has also
consistently refused to meet with our F1 bid team since 2024.
With us already engaging directly with FOM and invited thereof to
prepare and submit our F1 bid directly to FOM, having been ignored
by minister Mckenzie our repeated requests for meeting, due to our
representations to parliament and the president in 2024 to compel him
to level the playing field and allow for an open bid process, he relented
and on December 18 th , 2024 held a press conference launch of his F1
Steering Committee which turned out not serve the interests of an
open tender process and was later scrapped
b) Minister Mckenzie, around August 2025 went as far as to write to FOM
to compel them to dissociate FOM from the MK Malefane led Cape
Town F1 bid declaring MK Malefane persona non grata and making
negative allegations about MK Malefane to which in response, F1
conducted an investigation by professional investigators whose report
back gave a positive reference on MK Malefane being the best partner
on behalf of Africa for Formula 1 in Cape Town
c) We on several times up until last month October wrote to the president
and deputy president requesting meeting to brief the presidency of the
doings of minister Mckenzie and take required action before South
Africa loses the Africa F1 license bid to between Rwanda, Morocco and
even an overseas country. Of several such representations to the
presidency from since 2024 to-date, reference is hereby made to one

sample letters dated June 3 rd , 2026 and October 17, 2026 and minister
Mckenzie built a wall around the presidency preventing us ever having
audience with as relevant national and provincial ministry officials and
in the presidency communicated to us
d) Whilst Rwanda, notwithstanding the key challenges it faces in being
able to successfully host F1 GP, especially on the one hand, location of
its future F1 GP circuit and its capacity unsuitability as F1 experts
attest, and on the other, the looming security situation with war across
the border an hour’s drive in Eastern DRC said to be supported by
president Kagame, and Rwanda, we have respected FOM and FIA
decision to grant the F1 license to Rwanda especially because we the
preferred and lead Cape Town F1 bid team failed to have our president
and government deal with minister Mckenzie who had purposely and
deliberately undermined the South Africa F1 bid through Cape Town,
frustrating FOM our technical partners Silverstone Global and Tilke
Engineers & Architects as well as the rest of the F1 community with
the result that South Africa became seen as unorganized confused
country. We have gone further, to offer our partnership support to
president Kagame and to Rwanda and Qatar the funder and await
response
e) Once the presidency can be allowed to meet with our Cape Town F1
bid team and receive detailed report on how minister Gayton Mckenzie
sabotaged South Africa’s F1 bid, we are confident that, with the
president and government finally doing what is right and supporting
the Cape Town F1 bid and communicating this to FOM, the window of
opportunity could still be open for South Africa in Cape Town to be
considered and awarded the F1 license, either in the event the Eastern
DRC conflict escalates in the coming months and presents a Rwanda
and regional security crisis resulting in the need to reconsider the
Rwanda F1 license and if us being ready in South Africa in Cape Town,
failing, the Rwanda F1 license could very well go to an overseas
country. Another potential opportunity for South Africa receiving an
F1 license could also be alongside the Rwanda one within a week’s
difference between the two just as i.e. with Qatar last week of
November and Abu Dhabi first week of December. For this to happen,
there are a number of considerations to be made which one cannot
here divulge

f) We have always maintained an open door policy inviting other who are
serious and passionate to join our Cape Town F1 bid team in order, like
Rwanda and Morocco, to have unified national and country F1 bid and
even invited Kyalami F1 owner Toby Venter and leader of the
competing (to our Cape Town F1 bid) Western Cape F1 bid for around
70km north of Cape Town, former Sibanye Gold CEO, Neil Froneman
with both rejecting our overtures (ironically, with Kyalami, when the
US-Israel war with Iran erupted earlier this year resulting in the Saudi
Arabia and Bahrain F1 GP cancellations, with uncertainly around the
later 2026 Qatar and Abu Dhabi FI GP’s, we responded by lobbying for
consideration of Kyalami circuit as host of one of the end of the year
crisis F1 GP’s)
g) We remain forever on standby for long overdue and in the national,
regional, continental and Diaspora interest, meeting with the presidency
h) We continue to maintain an Africa F1 in Cape Town bid identity and
ownership and invite still potential strategic investor partners in South
Africa, rest of the continent, Diaspora and internationally with seed
investment in ongoing pre-license phase development and operations
including the following options: Option One: US$500K; Option Two:
US$250K; Option Three: US$100K; Option Four: US$50K; Option
Five US$25K; Option Six: US$10K; Option Seven: US$5K
(US$1=R16,5) and whichever option can be treated as loan to be
refunded out of the larger investor contributions by target 1-2months.
 -MK Malefane is the chairperson Cape Town F1 City Development

MK MALEFANE