Olympic Games: Ugandan athlete goes missing; leaves note saying he wants to stay in Japan

July 18, 2021 7:01 PM

A Ugandan athlete has gone missing in Tokyo ahead of the Olympic Games, leaving behind a message which said life in Uganda was too hard.

Olympic Games: Ugandan athlete goes missing; leaves note saying he wants to stay in Japan

Weightlifter Julius Ssekitoleko is said to have left a note, saying he wanted to stay and work in Japan.

The 20-year-old failed to qualify for the Games after his arrival in Japan, and was due to fly back to Uganda on July 20.

However, officials say he went missing from the Ugandan delegation’s hotel in Izumisano at 6:30 a.m. on Friday.

CNN reports that he “purchased a Shinkansen bullet train ticket to Nagoya, about 200 kilometers away.”

“In the note, Ssekitoleko said he did not want to return to Uganda and asked the members of his delegation to send his belongings back to his wife,” the report said.

It added: “City officials first feared he was missing around midday on Friday, when they noticed that a Covid-19 test sample had not been submitted by Ssekitoleko.”