Unqualified To Appear In Olympics, Ugandan Weightlifter Disappears From Hotel In Osaka

JAKARTA - A Ugandan weightlifter who flew to Japan for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics has disappeared from his hotel near an athletic training camp.

Julius Ssekitoleko, 20, one of nine members of the Ugandan contingent who has lived in Izumisano, a city in Osaka Prefecture in western Japan, since mid-June, was declared missing Friday lion, after failing to take a coronavirus test.

Olympic organizers have tried to keep all participants in the 'bubble' and adhere to strict rules, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus while they are in the country. Foreign athletes are only allowed to practice at hotels and official training venues.

"Police are conducting a search," said Katsunobu Kato, chief cabinet secretary to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, citing The New York Times Friday, July 16. Kato said police and city officials were doing their best to find Ssekitoleko.

Meanwhile, Uganda Weightlifting Federation President Salim Musoke, Ssekitoleko is ineligible to compete in the Olympics and is scheduled to fly back to Uganda on July 20 before the official opening of the Games.

Musoke said he last spoke to Ssekitoleko three days ago and was shocked to hear he had disappeared, given that athletes, coaches and officials had handed over their passports and the hotel they were staying at was 'tightly guarded'.

"When I received the message I was wondering, what happens if they are properly guarded? What happens to the security they talk about?" asked Musoke who was disappointed with the news

"The disappearance of athletes is not good for the country. I pray that they get this child. The Japanese government must get this child, and then we remove him from the sport," he stressed.

Separately, Izumisano City spokesman Yuji Fukuoka said an official traveling with the Ugandan contingent checked Ssekitoleko's hotel room on Friday and he was not there.

"What we want is for him to be found as soon as possible. He may be going through a difficult time," said Fukuoka.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee said it was aware of the case.

"We understand that the City of Izumisano has been searching for the missing person. We hope that the person will be found soon," the committee said in a statement.

Last month, a member of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic contingent from Uganda, became the first person to test positive for COVID-19 upon arrival in Japan, ahead of the world games that will kick off on July 23.

The unnamed Ugandan is part of a nine-member contingent who have all been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, reports said.

The group, which included boxers, coaches and officials, had also previously tested negative for COVID-19 before flying out of Uganda for Japan.

"However, one of them tested positive on arrival at Tokyo's Narita Airport on Saturday and was quarantined at a government-appointed facility, Japanese officials said, citing the BBC from local media, Monday 21 June.