Sports
Ugandan athlete absconds from Tokyo Games, says life ‘too difficult’ back home
Julius Ssekitoleko, a Ugandan athlete has disappeared in Tokyo, leaving behind a note saying he has no intention of returning to the suffering in his country.
According to officials, the athlete said life was too difficult back home and he would prefer to work in Japan.
CNN reported that the 20-year-old, who was billed to return to Kampala on July 20 after failing to qualify for the Olympic games suddenly went missing on Friday and has since not been found.
Officials said they first felt he had gone missing on Friday when they noticed the athlete had not submitted his Covid-19 test sample.
“He was last seen at a local station near his delegation’s hotel in Izumisano at 6:30 a.m. on Friday. The athlete purchased a Shinkansen bullet train ticket to Nagoya, about 200 kilometres away,” an official said.
In the note he left behind, the weightlifter asked that his belongings be sent to his wife back home as he will not be returning to Uganda.
