Today in Africa — October 8, 2026: Senegal’s AFCON Title Hearing Begins, HRW Slams U.S. Deportations to Africa

Senegal beat hosts Morocco 1-0 in extra time in January on Pape Gueye’s goal, after players walked off in protest over a late penalty for Morocco. Brahim Diaz missed that penalty when play resumed almost 20 minutes later.

CAF ruled Senegal broke a rule against leaving the field without the referee’s permission and awarded Morocco a 3-0 win. Senegal’s federation called the ruling “unfair, unprecedented and unacceptable.”

Sports law researcher Thibault Ulrich called the CAF ruling “extremely strict.” He says it failed to recognize the referee’s decision to let the match continue, and CAS’s own rules favor respecting referees’ decisions unless a referee is shown to be corrupt or acting in bad faith.

A three-arbitrator panel led by Frenchman Gerald Simon is hearing the case. CAS rules say appeal verdicts should come within four months of a hearing, though guidelines say panels should aim for under three. CAF president Patrice Motsepe has said CAF will “respect” whatever CAS decides.

In April, the game’s lawmaking body, IFAB, introduced a rule allowing red cards for players who leave the field in protest, and for team officials who incite them to do so.

HRW interviewed 24 third-country nationals in six countries: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, and South Sudan. Some described being chained for about 18 hours on deportation flights without knowing their destination, and being denied essential medication and often enough food or water.

People sent to Eswatini, Ghana, and South Sudan were arbitrarily detained and ill-treated in detention, the group says. In Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Ghana, deportees were sent on to their home countries despite the risk of torture or persecution, which HRW says risks violating the principle of nonrefoulement.

At least a dozen people who identified as LGBT were sent to African states that criminalize same-sex relations, including refugees the U.S. had protected because of the likelihood of persecution at home.

In DR Congo, a U.S. lawyer told HRW that none of the 15 people from Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador deported there in April remained by late September, and 11 had gone home. Equatorial Guinea, which received 65 people, quickly sent at least two to their home countries.

Eswatini, which took in 32 deportees, says three people from Yemen, Belize, and Laos recently “voluntarily departed” and that it is committed to protecting their rights and dignity. None of the African countries named has commented on the report, and Burundi announced late last month it agreed to take in deportees from the U.S.

Residents of Shire, a major town in northwestern Tigray that shelters displaced people and serves as a base for aid operations, say TPLF forces withdrew yesterday, Wednesday, October 7. Government forces had not yet entered, and shops closed for fear of looting.

In Mekelle, the Tigray Peace Force imposed an overnight curfew yesterday. Police stations, district offices, and the mayor’s office remain closed, and no interim administration is in place. The road south toward Addis Ababa has reopened, so fuel and goods are reaching the city again.

Eritrea’s information minister also accused Ethiopia of “openly working to bring about regime change” in Eritrea by sheltering and supporting people he called mercenaries. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on Monday that landlocked Ethiopia must have Red Sea access, which it lost when Eritrea became independent in 1993.

Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday it remains committed to dialogue with its neighbors. A high-ranking Ethiopian army commander told AFP that “small pockets” of enemy forces are still resisting.

Eritrea fought alongside Ethiopia in the 2020-2022 war against the TPLF, but relations soured over the peace deal and Ethiopia’s sea access claims. Ethiopia expelled 10 Eritrean diplomats and closed its Asmara embassy earlier this month, and Eritrea cut all diplomatic ties.