After a mysterious disappearance
Looking For Olympic Athlete From Uganda: Has He Submerged In Japan?
Weightlifter Julius Ssekitoleko from Uganda at a competition 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 trace.
Japan is still looking for an athlete from Uganda. Weightlifter Julius Ssekitoleko disappeared from his team’s Olympic training camp in Izumisano in Osaka Prefecture last week.
The disappearance of the weightlifter was first noticed when he did not show up for his team’s daily corona test appointment. The Olympic delegation from Uganda traveled to Japan last month to hold a training camp in Izumisano. Upon arrival, a trainer and another member of the delegation tested positive for the coronavirus.
After leaving the Olympics, he wrote a farewell letter
The day before his disappearance, the Ugandan weightlifter failed to qualify for the 2021 Olympics. Instead of leaving as agreed and taking a flight back to Uganda, the 20-year-old athlete suddenly disappeared. Ssekitoleko left a letter in his hotel room 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 asked the rest of the Ugandan delegation to hand over his belongings to his wife in Uganda. In his letter he justified his decision by stating: Life in Uganda is 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 could be seen. These were recorded at the train station in the big city of Nagoya – around 200 kilometers away from his team’s training camp.
