Today in Africa — October 13, 2026: F1 Is Coming Back to Africa, Three Men Charged Over Slain Kempton Park Runner’s Smartwatch

Former F1 driver Alex Wurz designed the circuit, which is meant to be fast and flowing, using the area’s hills and elevation changes. Tilke and DAR will work with WurzDesign to oversee the build.

F1 hopes the race will raise its profile in Africa, a relatively unexplored market, and says it can reach 100 million fans on the continent. The race’s place on the calendar is not yet set, and F1 is committed to no more than 24 races a season.

F1 would likely avoid the main rainy season of March to May. A shorter, less disruptive rainy season runs from October to November.

Rwanda has previously been accused of sportswashing, including over its sponsorship of Premier League clubs Arsenal and Aston Villa. The Democratic Republic of Congo has filed a case against Rwanda at the International Court of Justice, accusing it of breaching treaties covering genocide prevention, racial discrimination, women’s rights, and torture.

Africa’s first Grand Prix was in Morocco in 1958. South Africa hosted races from 1960 to 1966 in East London, then at Kyalami from 1976 to 1985 and again in 1992 and 1993. It has held talks with F1 about a return, including at Kyalami and Cape Town, but no deal has been reached.

Accused one, Nigerian national Kenneth Chibuzor, runs a second-hand shop in Kempton Park and allegedly bought the watch for R900 on September 10. Chibuzor also faces charges under South Africa’s Second-Hand Goods Act, with the National Prosecuting Authority alleging he bought the smartwatch from an unidentified person without recording the seller’s details or keeping the required transaction logs, leaving authorities unable to identify who brought it to his shop.

He allegedly sold it to accused two, Stephen Mohlakwane Sekhukhune, for an undisclosed amount.

The state says Sekhukhune, who is unemployed and allegedly makes a living buying and selling watches from pawn shops, registered the watch with his Gmail account at 11:43 a.m., after Moselakgomo’s profile and data had been erased.

WhatsApp records reportedly show Sekhukhune sent an image of the watch to accused three, Danial Anthony Moat, offering it for R4,000. Moat allegedly advertised it on Facebook Marketplace for the same price and was reportedly still holding it when it was found.

Sekhukhune and Moat were each granted R10,000 bail, which the state did not oppose, and were ordered to surrender their passports and report to Kempton Park police station. Chibuzor’s bail application was postponed to October 19 because the court could not verify his details and immigration status. The state said documents initially suggested he was an asylum holder, but later documents contradicted that.

The Sowetan understands at least four people were first taken in for questioning, and one was released for insufficient evidence. The watch charges alone don’t establish that the accused were involved in her death. Moselakgomo is among the women whose bodies were found dumped across Ekurhuleni since July, which led President Cyril Ramaphosa to address the nation on September 29 after 11 women’s bodies were found between July and September.

Sports ministers from the three countries agreed in April to continue discussions on a shared visa framework, and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni endorsed the idea in July.

The current East African Tourist Visa covers Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda but not Tanzania, so a separate arrangement for the AFCON hosts could close that gap.

Eligibility, fees, visa validity, and border procedures are still unresolved.

Tanzanian East African Legislative Assembly member Abdullah Makame cautioned that the visa’s effectiveness would depend on clear rules and consistent implementation across the countries.

The economic gains are not guaranteed. They will depend on visitor numbers, length of stay, and how easy it is to travel between match venues.