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Ugandan weightlifter Julius Ssekitoleko failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics this week. Then, on Friday, he disappeared.
A note has been discovered, CNN reports, written by the 20-year-old insisting that he has voluntarily disappeared and does not want to return to his home country because life there is too difficult.
Ssekitoleko reportedly requested that his personal belongings be returned home to his wife. It is still unclear where he is, but CNN and local reports confirm that Ssekitoleko bought a high-speed train ticket to Nagoya City after being last seen early Friday morning near his hotel. Nagoya is just under two hours from Tokyo by high-speed train.
The Japanese news agency Kyodo reports that Ssekitoleko wrote “a note to the effect of ‘I want to work in Japan'” before leaving. He also missed a planned COVID test before he bailed out.
Beatrice Ayikoru, head of mission for the Ugandan delegation, told Kyodo they are working closely with Japanese officials. “We, during our regular team briefings in both Uganda and Japan, have stressed among other things the need to comply with Japan’s immigration regulations and not choose to leave the camp without permission,” a- she declared.
the New York Times reported that two members of the Ugandan Olympic delegation tested positive for the coronavirus last month. As the Olympic Village just announced its first case of the coronavirus, 44 people affiliated with the Olympics have contracted the virus since athletes, press and staff began arriving in Tokyo to prepare.
Tokyo is currently in a state of emergency due to the growing number of cases and widespread protests against the games. The Olympics begin on July 23.
Ssekitoleko finished tenth at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia. At these Games, hundreds of athletes attempted to seek asylum in Australia after the event ended, but were subsequently rejected. Two Ugandan rugby players went missing after competing in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Scotland, and were subsequently granted asylum.
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