It's a grant, not an entitlement.
I have the hunch that that is what it came down to, a matter of public perception. Shunt africa, or shunt lgbt? Both "important minority identities" in the current zeitgeist of the western world. Probably no one wanted to touch that decision with a 10 ft pole.
https://pyfound.blogspot.com/2023/10/september-october-board...
The first vote had 6 abstentions and 4 yes votes. The second vote had 10 yes votes and 1 abstention. It seemed there was enough outstanding information/questions for 6 total people to abstain, though perhaps 1 of those 6 was using it nefariously? Hard to say
I doubt the authors of this would have had a problem with being rejected 3 months before the event, at least that would be some certainty and they could cancel or seek alternative funding.
I hope Python Africa has learnt it lesson and will find ways to manage resources locally. That the only way to succeed in long run.
A lot of comments are related to whether an alternative pan-African PSF would define diversity differently. If so, then a Eurocentric PSF might prefer conferences elsewhere.