Ugandan weight lifter in the Tokyo Olympics Julius Ssekitoleko has been repatriated to Uganda after he was found from hiding.
Ssekitoleko is among the Ugandan team that went to Japan for Tokyo Olympics at the beginning of this month but went missing last week after he left his hotel room at a training camp in Osaka prefecture in Japan.
He was noticed missing after he missed daily coronavirus test in Izumisano. It is reported that he left a note saying he wished to work in Japan.
Police together with the Embassy of Uganda in Japan tracked and found him in a town about 100 miles away. He was tracked on a surveillance camera taking a bullet train from Osaka to Nagoya, where he met another man and traveled to Gifu in central Japan.
Police launched a manhunt until they found him at the home of an acquaintance in Yokkaichi City, in Mie prefecture, carrying identification.
Naoki Fukuyama, an official at the Osaka prefectural police department, said the police were consulting with the Ugandan embassy on where to deliver him.
In a statement posted on Twitter, the Ugandan Embassy in Tokyo said it was working with Japanese authorities to enable Ssekitoleko’s “safe and secure” return to Uganda as early as Wednesday.
“Any issues to do with alleged absconding from the duty he had been flown to perform in Japan and related disappearance from the training camp, will be handled appropriately on his return to Uganda,” the statement said.
Fukuyama dismissed reports that Ssekitoleko is a criminal.
“He is not a criminal,” Fukuyama said. “Even though he has violated the Olympic rules, he has no problem doing anything as his visa is valid.”
Parrots UG has learned that Ssekitoleko has been repatriated to Uganda this day.
