After mysterious disappearance
Search for Olympic athlete from Uganda: did he go into hiding in Japan?
Weightlifter Julius Ssekitoleko from Uganda competing in 2018
© Action Plus / Imago Images
Last week Julius Ssekitoleko from Uganda missed the qualification for the Olympics. The next day, the athlete disappears from his hotel room. Now there is a first lead.
There is still a search in Japan for an athlete from Uganda. Last week, weightlifter Julius Ssekitoleko disappeared from his team’s Olympic training camp in Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture.
The disappearance of the weightlifter was first noticed when he had not appeared at the daily corona test appointment of his team. The Olympic delegation from Uganda had already travelled to Japan last month to hold a training camp in Izumisano. Upon arrival, a coach and another member of the delegation had tested positive for the coronavirus.
After leaving Olympia, he wrote a farewell letter
The day before his disappearance, the weightlifter from Uganda had missed qualifying for the 2021 Olympics. Instead of leaving as agreed and taking a flight back to Uganda, the 20-year-old athlete suddenly disappeared. In his hotel room, Ssekitoleko left a letter in which he wrote that he wanted to stay in Japan, find a job and live there from now on.
The “Japan Times” also reports that Ssekitoleko has asked the remaining Ugandan delegation to hand over his belongings to his wife in Uganda. In his letter, he justified his decision by stating that life in Uganda was very difficult.
Now the Japanese news agency Kyodo reported on Monday, citing police circles of images from a security camera, on which the 20-year-old can be seen. They were recorded at the railway station in the city of Nagoya − about 200 kilometers away from his team’s training camp.
