Tuesday, July 20, 2021
Olympic “bubble” burst
Missing weightlifter from Uganda found
A feverish search for a missing athlete from Uganda in Japan over several days: The police are now finding the 20-year-old weightlifter Julius Ssekitoleko around 200 kilometers from his team’s Olympic training camp. Uganda senses a “betrayal”.
The Ugandan weightlifter, who was reported missing in the run-up to the Tokyo Olympics, was found four days later. A spokesman for the Osaka police confirmed to the French news agency AFP that 20-year-old Julius Ssekitoleko had been found in Mie prefecture “without injuries and without involvement in a crime”. “He carried his own ID with him and identified himself. It is not certain who we should send the man to – the team or the embassy,” it said.
Henry Okello Oryem, Uganda’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, told AFP: “We are working with the Japanese government to find out the background to the disappearance of the weightlifter and how it was accredited. As a government, we have already contacted the Japanese government sorry. It was unacceptable behavior and betrayal. “
The number of corona cases in Tokyo, which is in an emergency, is increasing, in Japan the risk of infection in connection with the games is being viewed critically. Active and other Olympic athletes are subject to strict rules, including regular tests and restrictions on their freedom of movement. The “bubble” in which Olympians have to move has burst through Ssekitolekos’ tear.
Was the weightlifter looking for work?
The alarm was raised last Friday after Ssekitoleko failed to show up for a coronavirus test and was also not in his hotel room. He had recently learned that he was not allowed to participate in the summer games due to a quota system.
A note was found in his room saying that his belongings should be sent to his family in Uganda, according to officials in Izumisano City, Osaka Prefecture, where the team was training. It was suspected that he would like to look for a job in Japan. The prefecture of Mie is about 200 kilometers from Izumisano.
The delegation from Uganda traveled to Japan last month to hold a training camp in Izumisano. Upon arrival, a trainer and another member of the delegation tested positive for the corona virus.
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